Just because the first stage of the Falcon 9 went up in flames when it returned back to Earth, doesn't mean that the entire mission wasn't a success. In fact, even though the near miss may have made headlines all this week, as the second attempt by SpaceX proved to be as unsuccessful as the first, the Dragon cargo capsule is still on its way to the International Space Station for its resupply mission, and it's carrying quite a few surprises in store, as well.
"Five years ago this week, President Obama toured the same SpaceX launch pad used today to send supplies, research and technology development to the ISS" NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden says. "Back then, SpaceX hadn't even made its first orbital flight."
"Today it's making regular flights to the space station and is one of two American companies, along with The Boeing Company, that will return the ability to launch NASA astronauts to the ISS from U.S. soil and then land back in the United States. That's a lot of progress in the last five years, with even more to come in the next five."
One of 12 resupply missions planned to the International Space Station, as part of their $1.6 billion contract with NASA, SpaceX's recent launch hauled more than 4,300 pounds of scientific experiments, supplies and food to the team at the International Space Station, with a few added supplies to boost their spirits.
While NASA has planned little surprises for the teams in the past the new addition to the International Space Station actually required an immense amount of research in biotechnology, and even some trial and error on account of the European Space Agency, before it was found to be viable for the ISS. Now, thanks to this research, NASA astronauts will be able to sip on some much needed espresso thanks to an innovative coffee brewer known as the "ISSpresso" that will arrive Friday morning (April 17) just in time for breakfast.
"It's kind of like the ice cream thing" Deputy International Space Station Program Manager with NASA, Dan Hartman says. "We fly ice cream every now and then. That's just to boost spirits; maybe some rough day, a scoop of ice cream gets them over that hump."
Though SpaceX has made great strides in recent years, bringing hope to NASA and other space agencies that the dependency on the Russian space agency for access to the International Space Station may soon end, with their plans of advancement they still have quite a long ways to go.
