After postponing launch due to a failed valve, the SpaceX cargo capsule blasted off without a hitch Friday at 3:25 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida atop the Falcon 9 rocket. Ten minutes later, the Dragon supply capsule separated from the rocket's upper stage, opened its solar arrays, and set off on its journey to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Dragon has some 5,000 pounds of cargo for the ISS and is expected to arrive there early Sunday. Then, two ISS crew members will deploy a robotic arm and guide the craft to a docking port.
For awhile, the folks at SpaceX were worried about stormy weather but it gradually improved and, by launch time, was no longer a concern. SpaceX also tried to land its first stage booster in the Atlantic Ocean so it could be recovered with a ship, but it is not yet known whether or not the booster survived the splash-down intact.
The attempt at a soft landing in the ocean has a 30 to 40 percent chance of success, said company vice-president Hans Koenigsmann, at a pre-launch briefing.
After Dragon arrives at the ISS, crew members plan to perform a spacewalk on the following Wednesday to fix a broken computer relay system.
Among the two-and-a-half tons of supplies for the ISS include a new spacesuit, spacesuit replacement parts, food, and new legs for NASA's humanoid Robonaut 2–although they are "not like legs any human has had," said Andy Petro, NASA's space-technology directorate, at a prelaunch briefing.
Also accompanying Dragon on its flight to the space station are 200 fruit flies and microbes collected from stadiums and historic spots such as the Liberty Bell and the T. rex exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum.
Source : http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/spacex-successfully-launches-rocket-bound-for-space-station/
