SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 on Inaugural Flight

Falcon 9 successfully lifts-off on its inaugural flight. (SpaceX)

The inaugural flight of a rocket destined to carry cargo and supplies to the International Space Station successfully arrived in earth orbit this afternoon following a launch delay.

The 180-foot tall Falcon's nine Merlin 1C main engines came alive as it rose from launch complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 2:45 pm EDT and flew straight up before arcing out over the Atlantic waters.

"Tonight, we're gonna have a good time. Drink a few margaritas," Space Exploration and Technologies Corporation founder and chief Elon Musk stated following orbit insertion of the dummy Dragon module with the upper stage attached.

"Congratulations to SpaceX on today's launch of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle," NASA administrator Charles Bolden stated an hour following the launch." SpaceX's accomplishment is an important milestone in the commercial transportation effort and puts the company a step closer to providing cargo services to the International Space Station."

As the seconds ticked toward zero, the main engines ignited at T minus five seconds, followed by actual liftoff at T minus two seconds per the clock.

The white launcher darted straight up and through several cloud decks, setting off several grass fires including one near a shed.

Each Merlin 1C is fueled by a mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene, and burned for nearly the first three minutes of ascent.

The first stage then separate and the second stage's single engine began it's five minute burn.

SpaceX reminded this reporter that both the first and second stages are reusable, and following splash down can be recovered for a future flight.

An hour earlier, the unflown rocket experienced an abort on the pad at about the T-1 second point, following a long hold in the countdown.

Today's 1:30 pm abort occurred two and one-half hours into the launch window.

Smoke began to rise up from the base of the rocket, however an issue arose and stopped the countdown from reaching zero.

The launch team then began safeing the rocket and looked at options during the final hour of the launch window.

On March 13, the launch team performed a successful test firing of it's nine main engines for nearly four seconds.

A Falcon 9 is rated to carry as much as 23,050 pounds into low earth orbit, and up to 10,000 pounds into geostationary orbit.

NASA was watching over the shoulder of SpaceX as the space agency looks at using private companies in launching their astronauts and supplies to the Space Station.

Currently NASA has a contract with the Russian Space Agency in which American astronauts will use their Soyuz to reach earth's orbital outpost. NASA's direction under the Obama administration is to privatize space flight so that American's can ride their own vehicle's into earth orbit in the next two years beginning with Falcon 9.

The NASA directed Constellation program was scaled back to a lighter version of the Orion crew module, and will likely begin flying no earlier than 2015 from Kennedy Space Center.

A second Falcon 9 launch is targeted for late this summer, and will carry a full operational Dragon C1 on a multi-day flight in earth orbit. It will perform several burns and perform a reentry.

The nearly ten-foot high Dragon is a capsule styled module designed to carry several tons of supplies to station; and according to the company's founder Elon Musk will begin carrying as many as seven astronauts into orbit by 2013.

Falcon 9 second stage engine burns at T+206 seconds. (SpaceX)

Falcon 9 Aborts in Final Second of Countdown

The unflown rocket known as the Falcon 9 experienced an abort on the pad at about the T-1 second point this afternoon, following a long hold in the countdown.

Today's 1:30 pm EDT abort occurred two and one-half hours into the launch window.

Smoke began to rise up from the base of the rocket, however an issue arose and stopped the countdown from reaching zero.

The launch team then safed the rocket and looked at options during the final hour of the launch window.

SpaceX Inagural Launch of Falcon 9 on Hold

Under the secrecy of the day light hours, an American private company will launch a brand new rocket today as they prepare for future unmanned and later crewed flights to the International Space Station.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 remains in a Hold at T-15 minutes. The Hold time concludes at 2:45 pm, in which they must restart the countdown.

A troublesome range antenna is the issue for keeping the count in an extended hold.

Weather is overcast but remains go at this time.

Russian Proton Launches ArabSat's BADR-5

A Russian rocket lifted-off with an advanced direct to home broadcast satellite for Arab Satellite Communications as the company increases support for Saudi Arabia and Africa.

Arabsat's BADR-5 satellite will operate in an orbital plane close to the BADR-4 and 6 satellites, broadcasting direct to home network channels, and expand Arabsat's high def channels lineup.

Liftoff of the International Launch Services Proton-M from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in western Kazakhstan occurred on time this evening at 6:00 pm EDT (2200 GMT) from launch pad 39.

This was ILS's 60th Proton launch, and the sixth Proton launch of the year.

The Proton rocket soared into the dark morning skies of the predawn as it climbed eastward and across Kazakhstan.

The booster's six RD-276 engines provided a lift-off thrust of 2.5 million pounds to loft the 1.55 million pound fully fueled rocket up and away.

Two minutes into the ascent, the first stage dropped away and the second stage's three RD-0210 engines took over to power the rocket another three and one-half minutes.

Seconds after the third stage took over at 6:05:30 pm, the protective payload cover peeled away as the craft entered the last traces of the earth's atmosphere.

Powered by a lone RD-0213 engine, the third stage's trajectory kept the craft on a due east flight plan as it began to fly high over Mongolia.

The third stage later separated from the Breeze-M upper stage. This upper stage then began to steer and place the spacecraft into it planned geostationary orbit during a series of five long burns over the next several hours.

The Breeze-M uses one main engine which supports a thrust of 4500 pounds.

At the conclusion of five insertion burns by the Breeze-M, the 11,949 pound satellite will separate high over the equator east of Africa at 3:13 am EDT on Friday.

At this point, BADR-5 will be in a planned elliptical orbit of 22,236 x 3598 miles high. Over the next few weeks, the satellite's orbital low point will be raised to ensure the craft stays in a fixed point at 26 degrees East.

BADR-5 will be placed in a geostationary orbit over central Africa at 26 degrees East where it will utilize both it's Ku-Band and Ka-Band transponders to provide more channels to a larger footprint of the middle east region.

On Monday, the 191-foot Proton-M rocket was rolled out to it's desert launch complex via railway in a horizontal position. It was then raised up to the vertical position to be connected by ground umbilicals which will provide electrical power and fuel lines.

On June 23rd, the European Space Agency will launch the Arabsat 5A from South America aboard an Ariane 5.

Space Station Crew Returns to Earth after 163 Days

Soyuz TMA17 fires breaking rockets prior to landing. (NASA)

A trio of crew members who spent six months living in space returned back to earth tonight just hours after undocking from the International Space Station.

Beautiful blue skies and 65 degrees greeted the returning crew at it's landing site in the isolated region in northern Kazakhstan.

Expedition 23 commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi landed their Soyuz TMA 17 spacecraft on target tonight at 11:25 pm EDT (9:25 am Wednesday Kazakhstan time).

"It was really a success mission for us. I really appreciate all my crew members who helped me," outgoing station commander Kotov stated on Monday during a brief change of command ceremony. "And, Alexander, I give up command of this station."

Expedition 24 commander Alexander Skvortsov and flight engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko will stay alone on the station for the next two weeks. A new crew of three -- Shannon Walker and Doug Wheelock from NASA and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikin -- will then embark on their six month voyage aboard the space station with their launch from Baikonor on June 16.

Earlier they officially closed their hatch at 4:54 pm EDT which led to the vestibule. The crew then begin a series of leak checks inside the Soyuz.

Then with Kotov at the Soyuz controls, the spacecraft undocked from the Russian Zevezda module at 8:04 pm to begin the journey home.

The Soyuz then made one and one-half revolutions of the earth prior to it's deorbit burn at 10:34 pm, which slowed the spacecraft down by 258 mph to drop out of an orbit of 220 miles up.

The Soyuz then began feeling the first effects of the earth's atmosphere 32 minutes later at an altitude of 62 miles high. The tug of gravity began to also overwhelm the spacecraft, the first moments of gravity the three men have felt in 163 days.

Several Parachutes then deployed minutes before landing, followed by several breaking rockets which fired seconds before touchdown slowing the craft's speed down to 21 mph and a soft landing (above).

The two astronauts and one cosmonaut launched 163 days ago from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 20, and docked two days later with the Russian Zarya segment of the station.

The crew were then slowly removed from the Soyuz and placed in recliner chairs, first Kotov then Noguchi and then Creamer. Noguchi enjoyed a green apple minutes later and was able to place a satellite phone call to his wife located back in south Houston, home to the Johnson Space Center.

Expedition 24 commander Alexander Skvortsov and flight engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko will stay alone on the station for the next two weeks. A new crew of three -- Shannon Walker and Doug Wheelock from NASA and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikin -- will then embark on their six month voyage aboard the space station with their launch from Baikonor on June 16.

Creamer and Noguchi will spend much of Wednesday traveling back to America, expected to land at Ellington Field at 11:00 pm Houston time on that evening.