SpaceX reveals capsule's secret payload: Cheese

SpaceX, the Hawthorne-based rocket venture, has successfully reached orbit with its Dragon spacecraft, the company said. The company's massive Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Caneveral, Fla. on Wednesday at 7:43 a.m. Approximatley 10 minutes later, the Apollo-like Dragon space capsule appeared to reach low Earth orbit.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private rocket blasted off Friday on a supply run to the International Space Station. The unmanned Falcon rocket is owned by the SpaceX company. The Dragon capsule on board is filled with more than a ton of space station supplies and experiments. NASA is paying SpaceX to deliver cargo to the space station, and bring back science samples and other goods. This will be the company’s third delivery mission.

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral on Friday, March 1, performing its second NASA-funded cargo shipping mission to the International Space Station.

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft just set off on its journey to the International Space Station, launching from Cape Canaveral. It is carrying 1,268 pounds of cargo, including food, clothing, and care packages for ISS astronauts.

Mission calls for SpaceX's Dragon capsule to take cargo to the International Space Station, as part of a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.Hawthorne-based rocket venture Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, is planning to send a rocket to deliver cargo to the International Space Station later this year — a mission that takes the company one step closer to cashing in on a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

Hawthorne-based SpaceX has received $25 million from NASA since successfully launching its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule last month.Hawthorne-based rocket venture Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

NASA and SpaceX chiefs shook their heads with disbelief and joy Wednesday after a perfect launch into orbit and back of the company's Dragon capsule, a historic first for the future of space travel.Never before has a private enterprise attempted to launch its own spacecraft to orbit the Earth and splash back down intact, and SpaceX pulled off the operation perfectly, NASA and company officials said.

An American company may attempt to launch its first space capsule into orbit as early as Wednesday, in a key test for the future of commercial space flight as NASA winds down its shuttle program.The Dragon spacecraft, unnamed for now but designed with seats for seven and an ample cargo hold, aims to hurtle into orbit and then splash into the Pacific Ocean about four to five hours later, said the company, SpaceX.The bullet-shaped space capsule, which could one day tote supplies to the International Space Station, is scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.