Elon Musk’s space delivery company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp, operating under the name SpaceX, was founded seventeen years ago today. On 6th May 2002, the private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company launched in California, USA.

 

SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) today, 6th May 2019, to make a delivery for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

 

At 11:01 am GMT, Astronauts captured the Dragon cargo ship with a robotic arm. The spacecraft sailed 254 miles above the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. The spacecraft carried about 2,495 kilograms of experiments. This was alongside other supplies for the space Expedition 59 crew of six persons.

 

 

SpaceX Dragon in space

Later today, flight controllers on land will remotely attach the SpaceX Dragon ship to an open berth at the space station so that astronauts can begin unloading supplies.

 

The Dragon cargo ship launched on Saturday, 4th May on top of a Falcon 9 rocket from an Air Force in Florida after about a week of delays. Astronauts had spotted a small circle on the craft of the spacecraft as it neared the station. The craft was to detach during launch, but NASA officials say it posed no problem.

 

This cargo is the seventeenth one run for NASA by SpaceX since commercial resupply flights began in 2012. It was carrying a “host of new science payloads for use inside and outside the International Space Station.” The spacecraft also carries “tissue chips” to simulate the behaviour of human organs in Space. Also, the company transported some student-designed Genes in Space experiments to study how yeast DNA repairs itself in space.

 

 

The Dragon spacecraft will stay linked to the station for a month. After that, it will return to earth along with experiment samples and other gears.

 

Space X is currently working on a crew version of the Dragon spacecraft. The craft first launched a test flight earlier in the year. It will hopefully start operation by the end of 2019.

 

The company is currently investigating a Crew Dragon spacecraft that exploded during a ground test on 20th April. The explosion reportedly took no lives. Upon investigation and ascertained smooth running, Space X intends to run its first astronaut mission test flight for NASA.

 

Watch the Space X seventeenth Commercial Resupply Services mission on 4th May 2019 below.