And The First SpaceX Passenger Is….

Cheese.

Yes, a giant wheel of cheese. Many of you are probably familiar with the maiden voyage of the SpaceX Dragon Space Capsule, and its feat of becoming the first commercial space capsule to attach to the International Space Station.

What might come as a surprise is the fact that the very first passenger was a giant wheel of cheese!

According to SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk, the cheese is a tribute to Monty Python and its “cheese shop skit.”

The cheese survived a launch from Cape Canaveral, FL, to the International Space Station, and back to the Earth’s atmosphere.

It’s now on display at the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, CA.

Aside from the wheel of cheese, ballast weights were the main cargo, along with thousands of SpaceX employee badges.

Astronaut Tom Jones expresses his thoughts on the successful SpaceX launch here.

A video of the launch:

 

SpaceX Falcon 9 Successful Launch!

The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket successfully launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, FL yesterday 5/22/12. It is headed to the International Space Station with supplies, and is the first time a commercial spacecraft will deliver to the ISS.

Congratulations to SpaceX! Check out the original USA Today Article.


SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft To Commence Launch To Space Station

SpaceX and NASA announced that they will be launching the Dragon Space Capsule on April 30th to the International Space Station. You may remember our previous blog: SpaceX Dragon Space Capsule – 360˚ View, which includes a 360˚ interior view of the spacecraft.

The mission is designed as a comprehensive evaluation as one of the final steps before SpaceX becomes the first commercial carrier delivering payloads to the ISS. The goal is to demonstrate SpaceX’s capability to launch, rendezvous with the ISS and return to earth.

Mission time is roughly 4 days, and Dragon will dock at the space station for 18 days, offloading 521 kilograms of cargo and loading 660 kilograms from the station for return to earth. SpaceX also has 2 additional launches planned for later this year.

Check out the original article, SpaceX Given Green Light For First Launch To Space Station, courtesy of Wired.com.

SpaceX Dragon Space Capsule – 360˚ View

SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, posted a tweet about their innovative space capsule known as Dragon. It is a free-flying reusable spacecraft made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to Low Earth Orbit transport of cargo and/or crew members. Check out an amazing 360˚ view of the interior of Dragon!

See more info about SpaceX here.