SpaceX blasts off successfully to stock up International Space Station

A spacecraft, SpaceX's Dragon, has launched from Florida to re-fuel a floating space station...

15:47 08 October 2012

A Dragon capsule carrying cargo has lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Station in America on a mission to resupply an International Space Station (ISS).

 

It blasted off on Sunday night, and is an unmanned operation.

 

The rocket, which is not state owned, is on a mission as the first of its kind, and its duty is to carry food, clothing and supplies to the station that is already in orbit.

 

The ISS is believed to have a value of £62billion.

 

The craft, built by Space Exploration Technologies, is expected to land on Wednesday and hoped to return to planet Earth by the end of October.

 

The launched Dragon is involved in a project which replaces NASA’s spacecraft, as this has reportedly retired.

 

Agency administrator Charles Bolden told the BBC: “We're handing off to the private sector our transportation to the International Space Station so that Nasa can focus on what we do best - exploring even deeper into our Solar System, with missions to an asteroid and Mars on the horizon.”