MARCIA DUNN, The Associated Press Published Saturday, September 20, 2014 11:07AM EDT Last Updated Sunday, September 21, 2014 10:05AM EDT<\/p>\n
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A SpaceX cargo ship rocketed toward the International Space Station on Sunday, carrying the first 3-D printer for astronauts in orbit. <\/p>\n
In all, the unmanned Dragon capsule is delivering more than 5,000 pounds of space station supplies for NASA. <\/p>\n
Dragon should reach the space station Tuesday. It's the fifth station shipment for the California-based SpaceX, one of two new commercial winners in the race to start launching Americans again from home soil. <\/p>\n
The space station was soaring over the South Pacific when the SpaceX Falcon 9 thundered into Florida's pre-dawn sky. Sunday's weather was ideal for flying, unlike Saturday, when rain forced a delay. The rocket was visible for nearly three minutes as it sped out over the Atlantic. <\/p>\n
Sunday was a red-letter day for NASA in more ways than one. <\/p>\n
Besides the flawless launch, the space agency's Maven spacecraft was on the verge of reaching Mars. The robotic explorer was scheduled to go into orbit around Mars late Sunday night. <\/p>\n
The space station-bound 3-D printer was developed by Made in Space, another California company. It's sturdier than Earthly models to withstand the stresses of launch, and meets NASA's strict safety standards. The space agency envisions astronauts one day cranking out spare parts as needed. For now, it's a technology demonstrator, with a bigger and better model to follow next year. <\/p>\n
A $30 million device for measuring ocean winds is also flying up on Dragon, along with 20 mice and 30 fruit flies for biological research and metal samples for a golf club manufacturer looking to improve its products. <\/p>\n
Much-needed spacesuit batteries are on board as well, along with the usual stash of food, clothes and electronic gear. Routine U.S. spacewalks were put on hold following last year's close call with an astronaut's flooded helmet. That problem was solved, then the battery fuses were called into question. NASA hopes to resume spacewalks next month. <\/p>\n
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Astronauts to get 3-D printer at space station<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MARCIA DUNN, The Associated Press Published Saturday, September 20, 2014 11:07AM EDT Last Updated Sunday, September 21, 2014 10:05AM EDT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A SpaceX cargo ship rocketed toward the International Space Station on Sunday, carrying the first 3-D printer for astronauts in orbit Continue reading