The first launch of Space Exploration Corp's Falcon 9 rocket was to have taken place this week; but, other activity at Cape Canaveral has caused the launch date slip to
June 2 at the earliest. A delay in launching the latest GPS satellite aboard a Delta 4 rocket is taking up valuable resources at the cape.
The first Falcon 9 rocket will carry a qualification version of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which is designed to carry cargo, and potentially humans into orbit and the International Space Station. Under a $1.6 billion NASA contract awarded in 2008, Dragon and Falcon 9 are set to begin delivering cargo to the space station beginning in 2011.
SpaceX's medium-lift Falcon 9 rocket is a two-stage booster. It stands 180 feet (55 meters) tall and is about 12 feet (3.6 meters) wide, with a first stage powered by nine of SpaceX's own Merlin rocket engines fueled by liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0527/New-privately-owned-rocket-s-launch-date-delayed-to-JuneAfter the shuttle fleet is retired late this year, NASA will rely on the Russian Soyuz and Progress, the European Space Agency's
Jules Verne capsule and Space-X's
Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's
Dragon spacecraft.
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