OK, I'm cheating again today. This is not my photo, or even a Cape St. Claire photo, but it IS a Cape photo. In this case Cape Canaveral. This was the view of the Space X Falcon 9 rocket as it successfully launched from Florida early this morning, posted on the Space X Facebook page.
This is a test mission for the first commercial space transportation capsule ever. The unmanned Dragon cargo capsule will rendezvous with the International Space Station and perform some test maneuvers before docking and delivering supplies and science experiments to the resident astronauts. The reusable Dragon capsule with then return to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific. Eventually, astronauts will be ferried to the space station in this capsule, as well (hence the importance of the returning to Earth component).
This is an important day for America's space presence. We once again have the capacity to deliver goods to the space station, and hopefully within a few years, astronauts as well. Congratulations to Space X and their NASA partners for pulling off a fine launch.
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