SpaceX to launch rocket Saturday in first-ever joint venture with NASA
SpaceX will launch its Falcon 9 rocket Saturday morning at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket — which will lift off from Launch Pad 39A, the same pad Apollo 11 lifted off from in 1969 — will be headed towards the International Space Station to launch an unmanned aircraft filled with cargo and supplies.
This launch, under contract with NASA, marks the first-ever joint venture in outer space between the government and a privately-owned company. "Tomorrow's launch is a hybrid launch," SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told reporters Friday. "We've got a government customer, under a commercial launch authority, commercially-developed launch vehicle, incredible amounts of science ... it's a blend."
The launch is slated for Saturday at 10:01 a.m. ET, with a back-up time scheduled for Sunday at 9:38 a.m. ET. A livestream of the rocket launch will be available to watch at Space.com.
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