Space Station weclomes Private Spaceships

An artist's illustration of SpaceX's Dragon space capsule in Earth orbit. CREDIT: SpaceX image

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — Despite the grounding of NASA's storied space shuttle fleet, American spaceships are expected to make three trips to the International Space Station in the coming months. All of these visits, however, will be by private vehicles. The California-based company SpaceX is set to launch its Dragon capsule toward the station on Nov. 30 on its second and final orbital test flight, NASA officials announced last week. And if all goes well, the firm could launch another Dragon capsule on its first operational cargo-carrying mission three or four months later. The Virginia-based company Orbital Sciences, for its part, is planning to send its Cygnus capsule racing toward the station in February 2012. 10 Stocks to Hold Forever www.StreetAuthority.comBuy them, forget about them, and never sell them.What is Quantum Jumping? www.QuantumJumping.comDiscover Why Thousands of People are "Jumping" to Change Their LifeDragon NaturallySpeaking www.Nuance.comJust released v11.5! 99% accuracy. You talk, it types. Official site.Ads by Google

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