By Daily Mail Reporter <\/p>\n
PUBLISHED: 01:15 EST, 18 May 2012 | UPDATED: 03:29 EST, 18 May 2012 <\/p>\n
On Saturday at 4.55 a.m (EST) a Falcon 9 rocket will launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida and hopefully become the first private commercial flight to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).<\/p>\n
Ferrying the Dragon capsule into space, the mission to the ISS will be to deliver 1,000 pounds of non-essential cargo after passing a series of test maneuvers over the course of three days.<\/p>\n
If successful in its first-of-a kind mission, the company behind the venture SpaceX would collect the remaining payments on the $396 million contract it has with NASA and then enter into a $1.6 billion agreement for 11 more flights to the ISS. <\/p>\n
Launch of Falcon 9 Flight 1 from the SpaceX launch pad at Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral, Florida in 2010 <\/p>\n
The full flight-ready Falcon 9 (left and right) with Dragon capsule onboard stands on the launch pad at SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida <\/p>\n
The first step in the commercialisation of space to non-governmental firms, SpaceX are hoping one day to deliver up to seven passengers to the ISS and other destinations in low-Earth orbit.<\/p>\n
The Falcon 9 rocket suffers from an 'instantaneous launch window' which means that if they don't take off at the exact scheduled moment they will have to wait till 3.44 a.m on Tuesday for the pad and the ISS to line up again. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See more here: <\/p>\n
Falcon 9: History to be made with first commercial space flight to International Space Station<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED: 01:15 EST, 18 May 2012 | UPDATED: 03:29 EST, 18 May 2012 On Saturday at 4.55 a.m (EST) a Falcon 9 rocket will launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida and hopefully become the first private commercial flight to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). Continue reading