Orbital Sciences Corp's Antares rocket lifts off. Source
Yesterday (Sunday, April 21), at 2 p.m., Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. This launch was merely a test of the company's new rocket designed to resupply the International Space Station, but it went off without a flaw. Due to technical problems and launchpad delays, this mission was delayed for over a year, but it was worth it. Orbital Sciences is one of several companies competing to take NASA's place as the rocket designers and builders. One of the current companies that has made two successful flights to the ISS is SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.), one of the most well-known companies involved in the "space race".
It may be a while before we really become a space-faring people, but with successful tests like this, it may one day happen.
For more information, check out this article.
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