NASA decides if Dragon is allowed to attempt to berth with the station

Hawthorne rocket developer SpaceX will try again Tuesday to launch its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station after its weekend attempt was called off half lv women shoes 2012 a second before liftoff. If Tuesday's launch is successful and NASA gives the on-orbit OK, Dragon would dock with the space station on Friday, according to Space Exploration Technologies Corp., as the company is officially known. The Tuesday launch time is 1:44 a.m. Pacific Time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket would carry the Dragon into orbit. It would be the first time a commercial business has docked with the space station. The only four entities that have achieved this feat are governments - the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Union. Saturday's launch was aborted by a flight computer that detected slightly high pressure in the engine 5 combustion chamber as all nine of the rocket's engines ignited. Later that day, SpaceX engineers discovered the problem, a faulty check valve on the rocket's engine. "The failed valve was replaced on Saturday and, after thorough analysis, the vehicle has been cleared for launch," SpaceX said in a statement Monday. The launch has been delayed several times, but Saturday's near-liftoff was the closest the mission has come to leaving the launch pad. Dragon will carry supplies and experiments to lv handbags new arrival 2012 the space station. The mission is a test run to Advertisement determine whether SpaceX can supply the orbiting lab. To save money, NASA is turning to the private sector to perform the tasks previously done by the space shuttle, which was retired last year. SpaceX hopes to eventually shuttle astronauts back and forth between the space station and Earth, possibly in as little as four years. Other companies are also vying to prove they can safely reach the space station. To underscore the importance of SpaceX's launch, the company posted a photo on its Twitter site of Gen. William Shelton, commander of the Air Force Space Command, visiting the launch pad Monday. Thursday: Dragon's sensors and flight systems are subject to a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to berth with the space station; these tests include maneuvers and systems checks that will see the vehicle come within 1.5 miles of the station. Friday: NASA decides if Dragon is allowed to attempt to berth with the station. If so, Dragon approaches; it is captured by station's robotic arm and attached to the station. This requires extreme precision as both Dragon and station orbit the Earth every 90 minutes. Saturday - May 31: Astronauts open Dragon's hatch, popular louis vuitton handbags 2012 unload supplies and fill Dragon with return cargo. May 31: Dragon is detached from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.