CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A commercial rocket blasted off
early Tuesday with a load of supplies for the International
Space Station, opening a new era of dollar-driven spaceflight.
The SpaceX company made history as its Falcon 9 rocket rose from
its seaside launch pad and pierced the pre-dawn sky, aiming for
a rendezvous later this week with the space station. The rocket
carried into orbit a capsule named Dragon that is packed with
1,000 pounds of space station provisions. It is the first time a
private company has launched a vessel to the space station.
That's something only major governments have done — until the
present test flight. Launch controllers applauded when the
Dragon reached orbit 9 minutes into the flight. This time, the
Falcon's nine engines kept firing all the way through liftoff.
On Saturday, flight computers aborted the launch with a half-
second remaining in the countdown; a bad engine valve was
replaced. The real test comes Thursday when the Dragon reaches
the vicinity of the space statio