An American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut will spend a full year aboard the International Space Station in 2015-16, twice as long as current crews, to collect medical data on long-duration spaceflight that will help pave the way for eventual flights to deep space destinations, NASA said Friday.

Assigning two lab crew members to a yearlong flight also is expected to free up seats aboard Russian Soyuz ferry craft for two additional space tourists or representatives of other nations that might not otherwise fit into the normal space station crew rotation.

In their latest contract with NASA, the Russians charge more than $60 million a seat for Soyuz flights to and from the space station. While a space tourist presumably would pay less, the money would give the cash-strapped Russian program a welcome boost.

The Russians launched eight "spaceflight participants" to the station between 2001 and 2008, including one who flew twice. They paid between $20 million and $50 million per flight.

It is not yet known who will be assigned to the yearlong station flight, when they will be announced or who might fill the additional Soyuz seats. But Space Adventures, a company that has brokered past tourist visits to the space station, has scheduled a news conference Oct. 10 in Moscow with singer Sarah Brightman.

However that plays out, the astronaut and cosmonaut who will stay up for a year likely will launch in March 2015 aboard the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft, sources said, accompanied by a Russian spacecraft commander who would stay aboard the lab for a normal six-month tour.

Under that scenario, the next Soyuz in the rotation, TMA-17M, would launch with a normal three-person station crew the following May. The Soyuz after that, TMA-18M, would take off that Fall with a Russian commander and two paying customers, sources said, either tourists, researchers representing nations not normally in the rotation or a combination of the two.

The spaceflight participants would spend about two weeks aboard the lab complex and return to Earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft with the same commander that ferried the long-duration crew to orbit the previous March. The long-duration crew members would return to Earth in March 2016 aboard the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft with the commander who ferried the commercial fliers to orbit.

Other scenarios are possible. The NASA statement provided no details on how the crew rotation might play out and there was no immediate word from the Russians. However it plays out, senior NASA managers believe the flight is crucial for plans to eventually send astronauts on missions to deep space targets ranging from nearby asteroids to Mars.

"In order for us to eventually move beyond low Earth orbit, we need to better understand how humans adapt to long-term spaceflight," Mike Suffredini, the space station program manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement late Friday.

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U.S., Russia to launch first year-long space station flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - The SpaceX rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, lifted off Sunday night carrying an unmanned cargo capsule.

The Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule launched on schedule at 5:35 p.m. Arizona time from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with an orange blaze against the black night sky. About 10 minutes into the flight, the Dragon separated from the rocket and was on its way to the station.

Mission control called it "a picture-perfect launch and a flawless flight of Falcon."

It is is the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the International Space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

"It's a great evening," said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell after the launch. "It's just awesome."

The launch comes nearly five months after a demonstration mission in which a Dragon capsule successfully berthed at the station and returned to Earth. Shotwell said the Sunday mission isn't "substantially different" from that flight, "with the exception that we got there once."

The unmanned capsule is packed with about 1,000 pounds of cargo -- everything from low-sodium food kits to clothing and computer hard drives. It's scheduled to return in late October with about 2,000 pounds of cargo, including scientific experiments and failed equipment that can be repaired and sent back, ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini said.

"These flights are critical to the space station's sustainment and to begin full utilization of the space station for research and technology development," he said.

The Dragon spacecraft is supposed to catch up with the space station early Wednesday. Station Commander Sunita Williams and Aki Hoshide from the Japanese Space Agency will use the robotic arm to grab Dragon and berth it to the station.

Much of Dragon's cargo is material to support extensive experimentation aboard the space station. One deals with plant growth. Plants on Earth use about 50% of their energy for support to overcome gravity. Researchers want to understand how the genes that control that process would operate in microgravity -- when objects are in free-fall in space. Down the road, that could benefit food supplies here on the planet.

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Space X: Commercial flight to station

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 5:48 AM EDT, Mon October 8, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- The SpaceX rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, lifted off Sunday night carrying an unmanned cargo capsule.

The Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule launched on schedule at 8:35 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with an orange blaze against the black night sky. About 10 minutes into the flight, the Dragon separated from the rocket and was on its way to the station.

Mission control called it "a picture-perfect launch and a flawless flight of Falcon."

It is is the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the International Space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

SpaceX launches new era for exploration

SpaceX launches new era for exploration

SpaceX launches new era for exploration

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First commercial cargo flight heading to International Space Station

The company founded by PayPal billionaire Elon Musk makes its inaugural run to the International Space Station, marking a big step for commercial space flight

Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX for short, launched a rocket with a capsule carrying supplies for the International Space Station on Sunday, officially beginning a new era in which NASA will count on private companies to carry cargo and, eventually, people into orbit. The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, the billionaire PayPal founder, declared the lift-off a success. Despite a problem with one of the rocket's nine engines, SpaceX's Dragon capsule is expected to dock with the space station on schedule Wednesday. SpaceX completed a test mission in May, but this is its first paid supply run to the space station. What will this trip mean for the future of space flight? Here, a brief guide:

What is SpaceX delivering to the space station? It's taking 1,000 pounds of supplies, including food, clothing, gear, and science experiments. The scientific projects include 23 built by students, including one designed by California middle school students to see how Silly Putty works in zero-gravity. The equipment includes a freezer to store laboratory samples at temperatures as low as 300 degrees below zero. The ship is also carrying a treat for the three people on board the space station chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream.

SEE MORE: The Curiosity rover: The jaw-dropping HD footage of its descent to Mars

Why is the mission so important? Russian, European, and Japanese cargo ships that have been ferrying supplies to the International Space Station can't bring anything back the crafts burn up on re-entry into the atmosphere. Dragon can bring supplies and scientific materials back to Earth a capability NASA lost when it retired the three-vehicle space shuttle fleet after Atlantis made its last flight in July 2011. "Just over a year after the retirement of the space shuttle," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. says, "we have returned space station cargo resupply missions to U.S. soil."

How long will Dragon be in space? The capsule will remain hitched to the space station for about three weeks. First, it will be off-loaded, then it will be filled back up with twice as much cargo as it carried aloft. It will be sent back with research gear, equipment, and frozen biomedical specimens, including astronauts' blood and urine samples that have been stockpiled in freezers ever since the last space shuttle mission. If all goes as planned, Dragon will leave the space station on Oct. 28, re-enter the atmosphere, and descend by parachute into the Pacific Ocean about 250 miles off the Southern California coast.

SEE MORE: Remembering Neil Armstrong: A humble hero and legendary astronaut

What's next for SpaceXand NASA? SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to perform a dozen such supply runs. Musk wants to knock off two missions this year, and ramp up to as many as six next year. In three or four years, SpaceX hopes to be able to transport people in its capsules, giving NASA a way to get astronauts to the orbiting science lab without relying on Russian Soyuz rockets. Eventually, Musk wants to let astronauts pilot his Dragon capsules home using thrusters for a soft landing, like a moon landing. The company's success will help determine whether the White House can achieve its goal of turning over servicing the space station entirely to commercial companies, so the U.S. space agency can focus on developing spacecraft that can go deeper into space and eventually reach Mars. "Everything hinges on the success of folks like Elon and his team," Bolden said.

Sources: The Associated Press, Aviation Week, The New York Times, Popular Mechanics

SEE MORE: The astronaut who completed a triathlon in space

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What the SpaceX launch means for private space flight

NASA

Controllers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center spent Sunday preparing for the first commercial cargo flight to the International Space Station, readying a SpaceX rocket for an evening launch.

The Falcon 9 rocket with its unmanned Dragon capsule is scheduled for liftoff at 8:35 p.m. if the weather holds. It will be the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the International Space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

The scheduled launch comes nearly five months after a demonstration mission in which a Dragon capsule successfully berthed at the station and returned to Earth. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the mission slated to start Sunday evening isn't "substantially different" from that flight, "with the exception that we got there once."

"We demonstrated we could do it, so there might be a teeny, teeny bit of relaxation," Shotwell told reporters Saturday night. "Not a lot, though."

The unmanned capsule will be packed with about 1,000 pounds of cargo -- everything from low-sodium food kits to clothing and computer hard drives. It's slated to return in late October with about 2,000 pounds, including scientific experiments and failed equipment that can be repaired and sent back, ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini said.

"These flights are critical to the space station's sustainment and to begin full utilization of the space station for research and technology development," he said.

If the launch goes off on time Sunday, the Dragon spacecraft will catch up with the Space Station early Wednesday morning. Station Commander Sunita Williams and Aki Hoshide from the Japanese Space Agency will use the robotic arm to grab Dragon and berth it to the station.

Much of Dragon's cargo is material to support extensive experimentation aboard the space station. One deals with plant growth. Plants on Earth use about 50% of their energy for support to overcome gravity. Researchers want to understand how the genes that control that process would operate in microgravity -- when objects are in free-fall in space. Down the road, that could benefit food supplies here on the planet.

The spacecraft is also carrying nearly two dozen microgravity experiments designed and being flown through the Student Experiment Spaceflight Program. More than 100 students and teachers and family members will be at Cape Canaveral for the launch.

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First commercial flight to ISS set to take off

After two successful test flights, SpaceX is set to launch an unmanned Dragon cargo ship loaded with a half-ton of the supplies -- including ice cream -- to the International Space Station.

An unmanned cargo capsule built by SpaceX under a $1.6 billion commercial contract with NASA was prepared for launch Sunday on its first operational flight to the International Space Station, a milestone mission intended to restore the agency's ability to deliver critical components and supplies to the lab complex and to bring hardware and experiment samples back to Earth.

The Dragon capsule, perched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, was scheduled for liftoff from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:35 p.m. EDT, roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries the pad into the plane of the space station's orbit. Forecasters predicted a 60 percent chance of acceptable weather, improving to 80 percent "go" Monday and Tuesday.

During a test flight in May, a SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully rendezvoused with the International Space Station. The first operational cargo flight of a SpaceX capsule is scheduled for launch Sunday.

Launched into an initially elliptical orbit with a high point of 202 miles and a low point of around 124 miles, the solar-powered spacecraft will carry out a complex computer-orchestrated series of rendezvous rocket firings to catch up with the space station early Wednesday.

If all goes well, station commander Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will use the lab's robot arm to grapple the Dragon capsule around 7:22 a.m. Wednesday, maneuvering it to a berthing at the Earth-facing port of the forward Harmony module.

Over the next three weeks or so, the station crew will unload a half ton of equipment and supplies, including experiment hardware, a freezer, spare parts, clothing and food. Taking advantage of the freezer, ice cream was included, a rare treat for space crews.

As the capsule is unloaded, the astronauts plan to stow nearly a ton of no-longer needed gear, failed components, and experiment samples that, until now, have had no way to get back to Earth. Again using the robot arm, Williams and Hoshide plan to unberth the capsule on October 28 for re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of California.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule is the only space station cargo craft designed to safely return to Earth, a critical capability that was lost when NASA's space shuttle fleet was retired in 2011. The Russian Soyuz spacecraft that ferry crews to and from the space station can only carry a few hundred pounds of small items back to Earth. All other station vehicles -- unmanned Russian Progress supply ships and European and Japanese cargo craft -- burn up during re-entry.

"The SpaceX Dragon is a really important vehicle for us because it supports the laboratory use of ISS, both in bringing cargo up to the space station and in bringing research samples home," said Julie Robinson, the space station program scientist at NASA Headquarters.

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SpaceX cargo ship primed for first operational station flight

Skywatchers in the eastern United States have an opportunity to spot the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on an International Space Station resupply flight on Sunday night, weather permitting.

Space news from NBCNews.com

The first-ever year-long mission to the International Space Station will launch in 2015 and feature an American-Russian crew, NASA revealed Friday.

The night launch will mark the fourth flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, a privately built booster that has made three successful flights since 2010. The rocket will be carrying the gumdrop-shaped Dragon capsule to the International Space Station. In May the Dragon capsule became the first U.S. spacecraft to reach the space station since NASA's last space shuttle flight departed in July 2011.

To reach the space station, the Falcon 9 rocket must be launched when Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the station's orbit. That will happen on Sunday at 8:35 p.m. EDT at Launch Complex 40, SpaceX's launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

As has been the case with space shuttle launches to the space station, Sunday's liftoff will bring the Falcon 9 rocket's path nearly parallel to the U.S. East Coast. It is expected that the glow created by the rocket's Merlin 1C liquid propellant rocket engines should be visible in varying degrees along much of the Eastern seaboard.

[ SpaceX's Dragon Poised to Sunday Launch (Photos) ]

The Falcon 9 rocket launches into orbit using two stages. The first stage utilizes nine Merlin 1C engines which will burn for three minutes, then shuts down. Five seconds later the first and second stages will separate.

Seven seconds later the second stage, which utilizes just one engine will be fired and will burn for six minutes and two seconds. The Dragon space capsule will then separate from the second stage and head into orbit.

So while the first stage should create a fairly conspicuous bright light in the sky, the second stage will likely be considerably dimmer.

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SpaceX rocket launch visible from US East Coast tonight

Ice cream is blasting off for the crew of the International Space Station (ISS).

The frozen confectionery not the freeze-dried souvenir version sold in museum gift shops is packed on board the first NASA-contracted commercial mission to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

PHOTOS: Awesome Images Make You Feel Amazing

The Commercial Resupply Services-1 (CRS-1) mission is scheduled to lift off on a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday (Oct. 7) at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT Oct. 8) from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The ice cream, which is now a not-so-secret surprise for the station's current three member crew, was confirmed as on board SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule by NASA after a pre-launch press conference Saturday (Oct. 6) raised the possibility that it was included.

"We talked about flying ice cream," said NASA's manager for the space station program, Michael Suffredini. "We try to bring up what we call 'bonus food' for the crew, and this is one of those flights that will have that." (Space Food Photos: What Astronauts Eat in Orbit)

PHOTOS: NASA's Extreme Weather Photo Contest: Winners

GLACIER goodies

The vanilla with swirled chocolate sauce ice cream cups won't melt on their three-day journey to the space station thanks to a freezer on board the Dragon capsule.

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Astronaut Ice Cream Launching to Space Station

The space shuttle Endeavour's flight into Los Angeles last month brought hoards of people out of their homes, schools and offices, their eyes drawn to the sky as the retired orbiter buzzed past local landmarks.

This week, Endeavour hits the streets for a close-up.

Crowds are expected to track the shuttle's carefully planned two-day, 2-mph trek through Los Angeles and Inglewood to its permanent home at the California Science Center.

Endeavour's 12-mile journey starts early Friday, when it's expected to inch away from Los Angeles International Airport aboard a special transporter, following a path leading to Exposition Park.

Los Angeles and Inglewood police officials, with Science Center representatives, late last week offered details about the shuttle's schedule and limited public viewing areas. More information on road closures in both cities is expected to come out in the coming days and, in some cases, could change, police said.

One thing's for sure: The shuttle route will be well protected, making public access difficult in places. Police said they will conduct rolling closures along the path both days, working about a mile ahead of the orbiter, and will close some cross streets as a precaution. Given the shuttle's 78-foot wingspan, officials said sidewalks also will be off limits in many areas because they won't be large enough to accommodate the orbiter along with pedestrians.

LAX officials, meanwhile, are warning travelers who have

That's because the shuttle and its transporter will begin moving out of an LAX hangar about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, with the goal of clearing airport property by 2 a.m. Friday, said Nancy Castles, a Los Angeles World Airports spokeswoman.

The shuttle will then travel east on Northside Parkway to Lincoln, and turn left onto McConnell Avenue and right onto Westchester Parkway before ending up on La Tijera Boulevard.

"We're advising passengers that they need to be aware that the area northeast of LAX ... they should expect it to be impacted, along with Lincoln Boulevard," Castles said.

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Space shuttle Endeavour ready for 2-mph trip through Los Angeles and Inglewood

A private company is on the verge of launching another cargo ship to the International Space Station.

California-based SpaceX will attempt to send a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab on Sunday night. Liftoff is scheduled for 8.35pm EDT (1235 AEDT Monday).

Forecasters put the odds of acceptable weather at 60 per cent. Thick clouds and rain are the main concerns.

A Dragon cargo ship successfully docked to the space station last May, but that was considered a test flight.

The coming mission is the first under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA that calls for a dozen resupply flights by SpaceX, essential in the post-shuttle era.

The Dragon will remain docked to the space station for most of October. Astronauts will fill the capsule with blood and urine samples, other experiments and old equipment, for its return to Earth.

The nearly 500 tubes of blood and syringes of urine have been stashed in space station freezers since the last space shuttle flight, by Atlantis, in July 2011.

The decommissioned Atlantis, and sister ships Discovery and Endeavour, are now museum relics.

NASA nutritionist Scott Smith said the blood and urine samples - part of medical studies - will be the first to be returned since Atlantis' final voyage more than a year ago.

"This is the first real return vehicle for this type of sample," Scott told reporters on Saturday.

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Private space station delivery to launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A private company is on the verge of launching another cargo ship to the International Space Station.

On Sunday night, California-based SpaceX will attempt to send a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab and its three-member crew.

Liftoff of the company's unmanned Falcon rocket is scheduled for 8:35 p.m. EDT. Forecasters put the odds of acceptable weather at 60 percent. Thick clouds and rain are the main concerns.

A Dragon cargo ship successfully docked to the space station last May, but that was considered a test flight. The coming mission is the first under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA that calls for a dozen resupply flights by SpaceX, essential in the post-shuttle era.

"We got there once. We demonstrated we could do it, so there might be a teeny, teeny bit of relaxation. Not a lot, though," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told reporters Saturday night.

NASA was monitoring a potentially threatening piece of orbiting junk, but said that even if the space station had to steer clear of the object, that would not delay the SpaceX mission.

This newest Dragon will haul about 1,000 pounds of food, clothes and gear, including ice cream for the American, Russian and Japanese astronauts on board. (The ice cream will go up in freezers meant for research). Even more cargo will be coming back.

The capsule will remain docked to the space station for most of October. Astronauts will fill the capsule with blood and urine samples, other experiments and old equipment, for its return to Earth at the end of the month. By then, the complex will be back to a full crew of six.

The nearly 500 tubes of blood and syringes of urine have been stashed in space station freezers since the last space shuttle flight, by Atlantis, in July 2011. The decommissioned Atlantis, and sister ships Discovery and Endeavour, are now museum relics.

NASA nutritionist Scott Smith said these blood and urine samples part of medical studies will be the first to be returned since Atlantis' final voyage.

Here is the original post:

Private space station delivery to launch Sunday

Skywatchers in the eastern United States have an opportunity to spot the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on an International Space Station resupply flight on Sundaynight (Oct. 7), weather permitting.

The night launch will mark the fourth flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, a privately built boosterthat has made three successful flights since 2010. The rocket will be carrying the gumdrop-shaped Dragon capsule to the International Space Station. In May the Dragon capsule became the first U.S. spacecraft to reach the space station since NASA's last space shuttle flight departed in July 2011.

To reach the space station,the Falcon 9 rocket must be launched when Earth's rotation carries the launch pad into the plane of the station's orbit. That will happen on Sunday at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 Monday GMT) at Launch Complex 40, SpaceX's launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

As has been the case with space shuttle launches to the space station, Sunday's liftoff will bring the Falcon 9 rocket's path nearly parallel to the U.S. East Coast. It is expected that the glow created by the rocket's Merlin 1C liquid propellant rocket engines should be visible in varying degrees along much of the Eastern seaboard. [SpaceX's Dragon Poised to Sunday Launch (Photos)]

The Falcon 9 rocket launches into orbit using two stages. The first stage utilizes nine Merlin 1C engines which will burn for three minutes, then shuts down. Five seconds later the first and second stages will separate.

Seven seconds later the second stage, which utilizes just one engine will be fired and will burn for six minutes and two seconds. The Dragon space capsule will then separate from the second stage and head into orbit.

So while the first stage should create a fairly conspicuous bright light in the sky, the second stage will likely be considerably dimmer.

Kevin Fetter, a well-known amateur satellite observer based in Canada, notes:

"The first stage from what I seeis very bright sourceof light.The second stage won't be as good for causing a light show. So once the first stage is done, the nice light show is over. The light coming from the second stage won't be as bright, so not everyone will have a nice view."

What to expect

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Private SpaceX Rocket Launch Tonight Visible from US East Coast

For SpaceX, every flight is the real deal. It's that way for any rocket company. But this time around, more than in the past, the private company contracted with NASA is flying without a safety net.

Sunday, if all goes well, at 8:30 p.m. ET, a Falcon 9 Rocket with a Dragon capsule on top will lift off from launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

This will be the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the international space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

Symbolically, this flight is huge. In May, SpaceX carried out a successful test flight that attached a spacecraft to the international space station, making it the first company to do so. But if something had gone wrong, another test flight would have been put in place. Now, there's no alternative.

On this flight, the Dragon capsule is filled with 1,000 pounds of cargo, everything from low-sodium food kits to clothing and computer hard drives.

Much of Dragon's cargo is material to support extensive experimentation aboard the space station. One deals with plant growth. Plants here on earth use about 50% of their energy for support to overcome gravity. Researchers want to understand how the genes that control that process would operate in microgravity -- when objects are in free-fall in space. Down the road, that could benefit food supplies here on the planet.

The spacecraft is also carrying nearly two dozen microgravity experiments designed and being flown through the Student Experiment Spaceflight Program. More than 100 students and teachers and family members will be at Cape Canaveral for the launch.

SpaceX is not the only commercial company in the spacefaring business. Within the next few months, Orbital Sciences is expected to fly its own demonstration flight to the space station. But Orbital is not using Cape Canaveral as its launch site. The company's rocket will take off from Wallops Island of the coast of Virginia. Orbital has a nearly $2 billion contract with NASA for station resupply missions.

Of course, SpaceX founder Elon Musk is looking well beyond just these cargo flights to the Station. SpaceX is one of three companies -- Boeing and Sierra Nevada are the other two -- NASA has selected to continue work developing a human rated spacecraft that would carry astronauts to the International Space Station. The SpaceX plan is to modify the Dragon capsule to carry people.

Musk said in a previous interview with CNN, "We believe firmly we can send astronauts to the space station within three years of receiving a NASA contract." Right now, the United States must rely on Russia to get astronauts to the station at a cost of about $60 million a seat. Musk believes he can get the job done for a seat price of about $20 million.

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Private company's flight to space station Sunday

A private Dragon space capsule is poised for a weekend launch to the International Space Station with the first big cargo shipment ever aboard an unmanned American spacecraft.

The gumdrop-shaped Dragon spacecraft, built by the commercial spaceflight company SpaceX, will blast off on Sunday (Oct. 7) from a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is set for 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 Monday GMT), with a planned arrival at the station set for on Wednesday (Oct. 10).

SpaceX and NASA mission managers met Friday to review the preparations for the Dragon flight atop its Falcon 9 rocket, ultimately giving the mission a final "go" for launch. There is a 60 percent chance of good weather for launch.

"It's going to be a very exciting night on Sunday," SpaceX founder Elon Musk said during a Google+ hangout event with NASA chief Charles Bolden today ahead of the review. "I always get kind of nervous before these flights, thinking, like 'What have we missed?'" [SpaceX's Dragon Poised to Sunday Launch (Photos)]

Musk said he and his SpaceX team have done their best to ensure a successful launch Sunday, and while there is always the chance of something going wrong, "I feel like we've done everything we can to make the mission as successful as possible, and I hope people enjoy watching it."

Private delivery for space station

The Dragon mission, the first official cargo run by a private American-built spacecraft, is a watershed flight for NASA and SpaceX. The Hawthorne, Calif.-based company has a $1.6 billion deal with NASA for at least 12 resupply missions to the space station using its robotic Dragon capsules and their Falcon 9 rocket boosters.

The deal is part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. With the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet last year, the space agency is depending on the availability of new private space taxis to provide unmanned cargo deliveries to the station, as well as ferry American astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit.

Another U.S. company, the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp., has a $1.9 billion agreement to fly at least eight resupply missions to the station using its own Antares rockets and Cygnus spacecraft, and plans to launch a rocket test flight later this year. But SpaceX is the first of the two firms to actually launch vehicles to the International Space Station.

In May, SpaceX (short for Space Exploration Technologies) launched a different Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket on a test flight to the station. That mission demonstrated SpaceX's ability to launch Dragon to the station, have it rendezvous with the orbiting lab safely, and then be captured for docking using a robotic arm controlled by astronauts inside the outpost. [SpaceX's 1st Dragon Flight to Space Station (Video)]

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Private Dragon Spacecraft 'Go' to Launch Toward Space Station Sunday

A private Dragon space capsule is poised for a weekend launch to the International Space Station with the first big cargo shipment ever aboard an unmanned American spacecraft.

The gumdrop-shaped Dragon spacecraft, built by the commercial spaceflight company SpaceX, will blast off on Sunday (Oct. 7) from a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is set for 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 Monday GMT), with a planned arrival at the station set for on Wednesday (Oct. 10).

SpaceX and NASA mission managers met Friday to review the preparations for the Dragon flight atop its Falcon 9 rocket, ultimately giving the mission a final "go" for launch. There is a 60 percent chance of good weather for launch.

"It's going to be a very exciting night on Sunday," SpaceX founder Elon Musk said during a Google+ hangout event with NASA chief Charles Bolden today ahead of the review. "I always get kind of nervous before these flights, thinking, like 'What have we missed?'" [SpaceX's Dragon Poised to Sunday Launch (Photos)]

Musk said he and his SpaceX team have done their best to ensure a successful launch Sunday, and while there is always the chance of something going wrong, "I feel like we've done everything we can to make the mission as successful as possible, and I hope people enjoy watching it."

Private delivery for space station

The Dragon mission, the first official cargo run by a private American-built spacecraft, is a watershed flight for NASA and SpaceX. The Hawthorne, Calif.-based company has a $1.6 billion deal with NASA for at least 12 resupply missions to the space station using its robotic Dragon capsules and their Falcon 9 rocket boosters.

The deal is part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. With the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet last year, the space agency is depending on the availability of new private space taxis to provide unmanned cargo deliveries to the station, as well as ferry American astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit.

Another U.S. company, the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp., has a $1.9 billion agreement to fly at least eight resupply missions to the station using its own Antares rockets and Cygnus spacecraft, and plans to launch a rocket test flight later this year. But SpaceX is the first of the two firms to actually launch vehicles to the International Space Station.

In May, SpaceX (short for Space Exploration Technologies) launched a different Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket on a test flight to the station. That mission demonstrated SpaceX's ability to launch Dragon to the station, have it rendezvous with the orbiting lab safely, and then be captured for docking using a robotic arm controlled by astronauts inside the outpost. [SpaceX's 1st Dragon Flight to Space Station (Video)]

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Private Dragon Spacecraft 'Go' to Launch Space Station Cargo Sunday

Hawthorne-based rocket maker SpaceX is poised to return to the International Space Station with its Dragon spacecraft to carry out the first contracted cargo resupply flight in NASA's history.

SpaceX performed a successful demonstration mission to the space station in May, showing NASA that the company could do the job. SpaceX has secured a $1.6-billion contract to carry out 12 such cargo missions, and Sunday's mission would be the first.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is set to blast off at 8:34 p.m. EDT Sunday from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., carrying the Dragon capsule packed with 1,000 pounds of food, water and supplies.

"I'm still quite nervous about it because it's just our second mission to the station," Elon Musk, SpaceX's 41-year-old billionaire founder and chief executive said. "We're hoping that this mission goes as smoothly as the last one."

With last year's retirement of the space shuttle fleet, NASA is eager to give private industry the job of carrying cargo and crews, in hopes of cutting costs. Meanwhile, the space agency will focus on deep-space missions to land probes on asteroids and Mars.

Another aerospace firm, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., is nipping at SpaceX's heels with a test flight of its commercial rocket set for later this year. Orbital has a $1.9-billion cargo-hauling contract with NASA. The company is running tests on its Antares rocket at a launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia for a separate resupply mission.

Critics, including some former astronauts and members of Congress, have voiced concerns about NASA's move toward private space missions. They contend that private space companies are risky ventures with unproven technology and say that the missions should be handled by NASA flight-proven hardware.

But SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has quieted many opponents after its successful demonstration mission, though it still faces opposition.

"A SpaceX failure back then, or indeed a slip-up on the next launch, would give ammunition to congressional critics, who in many cases are trying to bring home the bacon for their own constituents," said Tim Farrar, president of the consulting and research firm Telecom, Media & Finance Associates Inc. in Menlo Park, Calif. "Continued success on SpaceX's part makes it much harder to argue for continuing to invest in traditional contracts."

During that nine-day demonstration, the Dragon spacecraft rendezvoused with the $100-billion space station and tested sensors and processors by linking up with the orbiting outpost's onboard computers.

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SpaceX ready to resupply space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A private company is headed back to the International Space Station.

On Sunday night, SpaceX will attempt to launch another Dragon capsule full of food, clothes and science experiments for the astronauts at the space station. The company hopes to repeat the success of its test flight in May.

Rainy weather could keep the company's Falcon rocket grounded. Forecasters said Thursday there's a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions for the 8:35 p.m. launch from Cape Canaveral.

This is the California company's first official launch under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The contract calls for 12 deliveries.

The Dragon will spend a few weeks at the space station before being cut loose at the end of October with a full load of science experiments and old equipment. It will parachute into the Pacific.

Among the items going up and coming back on the Dragon are a dozen student experiments that flew aboard the SpaceX capsule in May, but were not properly activated by the station crew. NASA offered this second chance.

NASA is counting on private business to help keep the space station stocked, now that the shuttles are retired. The governments of Russia, Japan and Europe also provide periodic supply runs.

A second company, the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp., hopes to launch its Antares rocket with a mockup capsule by the end of this year, out of Wallops Island. The first test flight to the space station, by Orbital Sciences, is targeted for early 2013.

SpaceX or Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, who's also the chief executive officer of the electric car-maker, Tesla Motors. He is working to modify the Dragon capsule in order to carry astronauts back and forth to the space station, within three to five years. Americans currently hitch rides on Russian rockets.

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SpaceX encore: 2nd private space station shipment

Published October 04, 2012

Associated Press

May 25, 2012: View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as the stations robotic arm moves Dragon into place for attachment to the station.NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida A private company is headed back to the International Space Station.

On Sunday night, SpaceX will try to launch another Dragon capsule full of food, clothes and science experiments for the astronauts at the space station. The company hopes to repeat the success of its test flight in May.

This is the California company's first official launch under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The contract calls for 12 deliveries.

The U.S. space agency is counting on private business to help keep the space station stocked, now that its space shuttles are retired.

Rainy weather could keep the company's Falcon rocket grounded. Forecasters said Thursday there's a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions for the launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX is run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk.

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SpaceX plans historic flight to International Space Station Sunday

What's a rich space tourist to do? If you want to fly in space, seats are harder to find than a flight out of Chicago's O'Hare airport during a blizzard. So your only option is to bump an astronaut from a seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft going to the International Space Station.

ABC News has learned that singer Sarah Brightman, of "Phantom of the Opera" fame, will be the next tourist in space, sometime in 2014 or 2015. To get her seat she had to pay the Russian space agency more than the $51 million NASA budgets on average to send its astronauts to the station.

To maintain its presence in orbit when Soyuz seats are limited, NASA had to agree to commit at least one of its astronauts to spend a year in space, instead of the six months they currently stay. Brightman's trip will be announced in Moscow on Oct. 10.

NASA says a year in space has great medical research benefits. Astronauts spending just six months on the space station in the past have suffered from radiation exposure, muscle mass loss, decreased bone density, and vision problems. The research from a year on the space station will help NASA plan for long flights to Mars or an asteroid. It does mean an astronaut will get booted from a flight to adjust for one less seat.

When the space shuttle quit flying last year, it created a conundrum for companies like Space Adventures, whose business -- sending rich tourists into space -- depended upon the resources of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Roscosmos is the only space agency willing to send tourists to space. NASA won't do it, and now they don't have a spacecraft anyway so it's a moot point.

Don't have $50 million to spare? There is a budget option: $200,000 for a suborbital flight on Virgin Galactic' s SpaceshipTwo, which should start commercial flights in a couple of years. SpaceShipTwo is designed to be a six-passenger, two-pilot craft, flying to the edge of space. The flight will be short -- just six minutes of weightlessness, but passengers will be able to unbuckle and float around the cabin. If you have $1 million to spare, you can book one trip for yourself and a few friends.

Boeing would like to get into the space tourism business as well, partnering with Space Adventures at some point to launch from Florida.

Space Adventures offers ten days on the International Space Station, in low Earth orbit, with great views and not-so-great accommodations. But there is zero gravity, which means you get to do somersaults and float as much as you want. For a singer like Sarah Brightman, who thrilled the world when she starred in "Phantom of the Opera," the inspiration should be out of this world.

Rumors flew earlier this week when author J.K. Rowling told an audience in England she had once been offered a seat on a space shuttle for a couple of million dollars. NASA quickly scotched that story.

Space Adventures has flown seven tourists into space since 2001. Clients have paid from $22 million to $35 million in the past, but the limited number of Soyuz seats drove the price to more than $50 million. After all, if NASA is willing to pay $51 million, Russia doesn't need to sell the seat at half price.

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Space Tourist Outbids NASA for Flight

This NASA Research Announcement (NRA) solicits hypothesis-driven research proposals for 1) Ground-Based Research Designed to Lead to Space Flight, 2) Rapid Turn-Around Space Flight Experiments 3) ISS Flight Experiments and 4) New Space Biology Investigations. NASA Space Biology experiments have one or more of the following primary goals: 1) to effectively use microgravity and the other characteristics of the space environment to enhance our understanding of basic biological processes; 2) to develop the scientific and technological foundations for a safe, productive human presence in space for extended periods and in preparation for exploration; and 3) to apply this knowledge and technology to improve our nation's competitiveness, education, and the quality of life on Earth. NASA Space Biology experiments will be designed to discover how space flight affects a diverse group of microorganisms, plants, and animals; study the effects of gravity (g) across the g-spectrum, i.e., from micro- to hyper-gravity; and characterize the biological effects of radiation, magnetic fields, and the interaction amongst species in the unusual environments of space and spacecraft.

The full text of the solicitation is available on the NASA Research Opportunities homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com under menu listing "Open Solicitations." Potential applicants are urged to access this site well in advance of the proposal due date to familiarize themselves with its structure and to register in the NSPIRES system. Proposals must be submitted electronically.

Step-1 proposals are due on October 31, 2012 at 5 PM Eastern Time, and invited Step-2 proposals are due on December 19, 2012 at 5 PM Eastern Time. Proposals must be submitted electronically by an authorized official of the proposing organization. Proposers can use either NSPIRES (see URL above) or Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) for proposal submission. NASA's selection of research projects will be guided by recommendations of the National Research Council's 2011 Decadal Survey Report, "Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era" (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13048.html).

All categories of U.S. institutions are eligible to submit proposals in response to this NRA. Principal Investigators (PIs) may collaborate with investigators from universities, Federal Government laboratories, the private sector, state and local government laboratories and other countries.

Every organization that intends to submit a proposal in response to this NRA must be registered with NSPIRES, and such registration must identify the authorized organizational representative(s) who will submit the electronic proposal. Instructions on how to register in NSPIRES will be described in the NRA. Each electronic proposal system places requirements on the registration of principal investigators and other participants (e.g. co-investigators). Potential proposers and proposing organizations are urged to access the system(s) well in advance of the proposal due date(s) of interest to familiarize themselves with its structure and enter the requested information. Questions in regards to responding to this NRA may be addressed to the contacts referenced in the full solicitation document.

This is a broad agency announcement as specified in FAR 6.102 (d)(2). Notwithstanding the posting of this opportunity at FedBizOpps.gov, nspires.nasaprs.com, or Grants.gov, NASA reserves the right to determine the appropriate award instrument for each proposal selected pursuant to this announcement.

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Release of NASA Research Announcement NNH12ZTT001N "Research Opportunities in Space Biology"