SpaceX Dragon Will Launch For Space Station On May 19

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The first-ever mission to attempt the docking of an unmanned private spacecraft with the International Space Station is a “go” for launch on Saturday, May 19 at the early hour of 4:55 am EDT, according to NASA.

NASA and SpaceX, the company behind the mission, both announced the new, delayed target date for launch on Friday. It’s the second delay for SpaceX’s historic mission, which was initially scheduled to launch April 30 before being pushed to May 7 to make time for additional testing.

SpaceX, a Hawthorne, CA-based company founded by billionaire PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk, already successfully test launched its Falcon rocket and attached Dragon spacecraft in December 2010, becoming the first private company to send a spacecraft into low-earth orbit and return it safely to Earth. 

But the upcoming mission involves docking the Dragon, a much more complicated procedure, which has led SpaceX to spend more time testing its procedures. SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon cargo vessel is scheduled to deliver food and supplies to the astronatus aboard the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s May 19 mission also comes on the heels of a new crew arriving to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, set for May 14.

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