SpaceX, the world’s most successful space transportation company, is rescheduling its latest launch for Friday April 18. The company failed to launch its Falcon 9 Rocket on Monday just two hours before it was set to take place. The launch is the third International Space Station resupply mission the company is to undertake, and the fourth trip that a Falcon 9 rocket is to make to the orbiting astronauts.
The SpaceX launch is set to take place at 3:25 PM EDT according to a press release from NASA. the US space agency gave the resupply contract to the Elon Musk-fronted company after its own shuttle project was ended. SpaceX is a company that excites many of those interested in space exploration as it represents the advent of private space exploration, a business that may take off on the back of the company’s success.
SpaceX launch given go-ahead
The SpaceX flight that is supposed to take place on Friday has already seen multiple delays. Monday’s delay was caused by helium leaking from the first stage of the Space X rocket. A computer glitch aboard the space station itself threatened to delay the launch last weekend, but NASA gave the go ahead for the mission to take place.
Various problems have already caused the launch of the unmanned spacecraft to be delayed for a full month. Friday’s attempt is hoped to finally bring the necessary supplies to the space station. The mission involves the transport of 5,000 pounds of equipment and food to the space station.
SpaceX heads for the stars
The Falcon 9 rocket that SpaceX is using to resupply the International Space Station is still in constant development. The company’s medium-term goal is to create a rocket that it can use for multiple launches, an attribute that it will be testing on Friday. If the firm is able to create a reusable ship costs for space travel will fall significantly, leaving it with a much better chance of profit, and offering a boon to space exploration as a whole.
Friday’s Falcon 9 will have extendible landing legs included, as well as a parachute. These additions are designed to help the machine return safely to earth. Engineers from SpaceX will be watching the rocket’s return to earth with interest as they analyze the pressures on the ship’s system in order to prove the design of its landing systems.
The SpaceX contract to resupply the International Space Station is the first major step in its goal of opening up the world outside of earth to private exploration and exploitation. The company is working on designing next-generation space ships for NASA and adding human carriage to its rockets.
