- SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule lifts off at the Cape Canaveral Air Force - Source: Reuters
A privately owned company put a spacecraft into orbit in a test flight that NASA hopes will eventually lead to cargo runs to the International Space Station after its space shuttles are retired next year.
The NASA-backed mission is intended to test a new system for delivering cargo - and eventually possibly crew - to the International Space Station.
Space Exploration Technologies' Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 10:43 am EST (1543 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying the company's first operational Dragon capsule.
Two more test flights are planned, though if Wednesday's mission is successful, the company may combine its remaining test flights and make a docking at the space station next summer.
SpaceX, which is owned and operated by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, is one of two firms holding a combined $4.7 billion in NASA contracts to deliver cargo to the space station after the space shuttles are retired after two or three more missions.
NASA also is contributing a combined $670 million for SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp to develop and test-fly their rockets and capsules.
Orbital plans to debut its Taurus 4 rocket next year.
During Wednesday's test flight, the Dragon capsule is expected to run through a preprogrammed series of maneuvers that simulate an approach and docking to the space station.
After two orbits, spanning about three hours, Dragon is expected to fire its thrusters to leave orbit and re-enter the atmosphere, giving its heat shield a workout that cannot be simulated on Earth.
SpaceX and NASA officials played down the importance of achieving a totally successful flight.If it survives, the capsule will deploy parachutes and splash down into the Pacific Ocean, about 805 km off the coast of Mexico. The company rented a NASA ship to retrieve the capsule.
"If history is any guide, there is undoubtedly going to be some anomalies as we go through the test program. That is what the test program is designed for, is to learn," Phil McAlister, acting director of NASA Commercial Space Flight Development, told a prelaunch news conference.
SpaceX has spent more than $600 million of its own money developing Falcons and Dragons.
Space Taxi
The company intends to upgrade Dragon with a launch escape system and hopes it will serve as a taxi for astronauts and other people wanting rides to the station and other future planned outposts in orbit around Earth.
NASA's goal in backing commercial space efforts is to see if it can cut costs, spur new industries and open more supply lines for the station, a $134 billion project of 16 nations that is nearing completion about 355 km above the planet.
The idea is for the US space agency to become a consumer of services, rather than provider, said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program and the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
"If we overrun this program, we have to come up with the money through investment to cover the cost, which is dramatically different from contracts where if the contractor overruns, taxpayers have to pay the overruns," said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.
"I think that's exactly why this program was set up that way - to limit the government's exposure."
Dragon's return to Earth is expected at 2:02 pm EST (1902 GMT) Wednesday
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