Florida Today: SpaceX Grows Up

Click the arrow to watch the Florida Today video.

Page 1 of Sunday's Florida Today is a big splash about April 30's pending launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 with the Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station.

If successful, the test flight will give the United States the only automated cargo vehicle on Planet Earth capable of returning experiments and other payloads from space.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex web site is promoting the April 30 launch:

Guests are invited to witness the beginning of a new era with the first historic launch of a commercial spacecraft on Monday, April 30. SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, will be the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station.

The capsule will fly by the International Space Station within two miles, performing tests and ensuring that all sensors and flight systems are functioning properly. The capsule will then approach the International Space Station to be grabbed by the robotic arm controlled by the space station crew inside.

Completing the mission will be a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex opens at 9:00 a.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive early for the best viewing. Prime viewing from the Apollo/Saturn V Center, part of the KSC Tour, will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Additional viewing opportunities will be available at the Visitor Complex.