With reference to an e-mail sent by one of the representatives of the company «SpaceX», engaged in the development of spaceships, the Internet portal «SpaceNews» reports that the launch of a private spacecraft called «Dragon» is postponed to the beginning of November this year.
According to the information written in the letter, the delay in the launch of the spacecraft is associated with the need to draw up some formal procedures for inter-party coordination, which are mandatory for the launch of all spacecraft..
«Dragon» is an unmanned cargo ship capable of delivering about 3 tons of various cargo to Earth’s orbit. Last month, SpaceX conducted the final test of this ship — it was dropped from an altitude of 4.2 km in order to ensure that its parachute systems are functioning as expected..
The spacecraft is to be taken to earth orbit by the Falcon-9, a launch vehicle that has also been developed by the company’s specialists. The first successful launch of «Falcon-9» took place in June this year.
According to the plan for the development of the American space program, private launch vehicles and spacecraft will be used as the main space transport after the shuttle program being developed there is completed in the United States. The last launch of the space shuttle should take place to the ISS in February next year.
