Congresswoman Waters Congratulates SpaceX on Successful Mission to Date
Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) congratulated Hawthorne based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) on the successful launch and subsequent rendezvous of their Dragon spacecraft with the International Space Station.
In a letter to SpaceX CEO and CTO Elon Musk, Congresswoman Waters commended the ten year old company on it's pioneering efforts in laying the groundwork for commercial transportation into space. "I am so pleased and proud that a company headquartered in my 35th Congressional district is making these significant strides. The South Bay has long been a breeding ground for innovation in aeronautics. We are the home of the Los Angeles Air Force Base, the Aerospace Corporation, and other companies actively involved in the aerospace industry. I would like to thank SpaceX for opening new doors in space exploration and continuing the great tradition of aerospace history coming from companies right here in the South Bay."
Earlier today, Astronauts aboard the International Space Station, which is 250 miles above Earth, used their robotic crane to snare SpaceX's Dragon capsule while the two spacecraft orbited the planet at 17,500 miles an hour. The reusable Dragon was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday aboard a Falcon rocket, also built by SpaceX in their Hawthorne, CA facility. SpaceX is now the first private company in history to successfully launch and deliver cargo to the Space Station, an artificial satellite within Earth's orbit that has been visited by astronauts from 15 different nations.
In April 2011, NASA awarded SpaceX with membership in the Commercial Crew Development program, a space technology development program that aims to encourage the creation of privately operated spacecraft. Established in 2002, SpaceX has already created two new launch vehicles and received funding from NASA to develop the capacity for the delivery and return of cargo to the International Space Station.
With the retirement of the U.S. Space Shuttle, Russia currently resupplies the space station. However, NASA is now considering private vehicles as our sole transporter of flying supplies, and SpaceX has successfully demonstrated it can handle this responsibility. The South Bay company also has contracts with the Unites States Air Force and private satellite communications companies.
"The amount of jobs this will create for the American economy is not yet known, but it is quite apparent that SpaceX's ambitious efforts will result in the creation of many new positions" said Congresswoman Waters. "I applaud their already impressive accomplishments."
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