Posted on 05/25/2012 8:45:26 AM PDT by mandaladon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station for a historic docking Friday, captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm.
It succeeded in making the first commercial delivery into the cosmos.
U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit used the space station's 58-foot robot arm to snare the gleaming white Dragon after a few hours of extra checks and maneuvers. The two vessels came together while sailing above Australia.
"Looks like we've got us a dragon by the tail," Pettit announced from 250 miles up once he locked onto Dragon's docking mechanism.
"You've made a lot of folks happy down here over in Hawthorne and right here in Houston," radioed NASA's Mission Control. "Great job guys."
NASA controllers clapped as their counterparts at SpaceX's control center in Hawthorne, Calif. — including SpaceX's billionaire maestro, Elon Musk, of PayPal fame — lifted their arms in triumph and jumped out of their seats to exchange high fives.
This is the first time a private company has attempted to send a vessel to the space station, an achievement previously reserved for a small, elite group of government agencies. And it's the first U.S. craft to visit the station since the final shuttle flight last July.
The astronauts wasted no time getting the Dragon capsule into position for actual docking to the space station. The unmanned capsule is carrying 1,000 pounds of supplies on this unprecedented test flight.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Like the internet, it will develop quickly and cheaply as a free-market.
Once that happens, Gov’t and the Left will attempt to control it and get their cut.
I estimate that will take 10+ years.
Live stream:
Watch it here
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc
or here
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/status.html
You have named it Capitalist One. That would have really drove the left nutty. Well, nuttier if that is even possible..?
You know that guy couldn't wait to say that.
If I were on the Dragon? ; "is that a giant robot arm or are you just really glad to see me?"
Semiprivate.
Of course, the government staying out of the way is the main problem with this.
This was done right. Now is the time to let private enterprise take over. Let NASA do it’s space exploration via sateliite, etc and leave private industry to do the real work.
Confirmation of successful first-stage capture.
Go for second-stage capture.
Obama will claim credit for the building of the inter-galactic railway.
LOL!!!!!!!!
WTF? The left already controls it. And they're getting their cut.
Second stage capture complete. The Dragon has docked.
A private capitalist company has achieved something that North Korea could not.
I swear if I were running any large church I would be formulating plans for the colonization of the moon / asteroids etc...
Because soon only screw ball religions (like the ROPers and Fundamental Atheism) and socialism/communism will be the only ones that are “accepted”.
I would seriously be considering setting up a fund to explore the possibility of getting off planet in case of widespread religious oppression.
The era of man’s real expansion into the solar system has finally begun - fueled by and made sustainable by free enterprise. I hope to see permanent colonies on the Moon and routine robotic mining operations in the asteroid belt in my lifetime.
Then what do they do with the capsule?
Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, flight controllers applauded when the Dragon reached orbit nine minutes into the flight. Then they embraced once the solar panels on the craft popped open.
Many of the SpaceX controllers wore untucked T-shirts, jeans or shorts, a stark contrast to NASA’s suit-and-tie shuttle crowd.
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I love it!
Ya don’t got to dress up like your going to church to launch rockets, head into space, orbit the earth, etc.
And then it gets refurbished, refueled, and re-used.
/johnny
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