SpaceX Rocket to Blast to International Space Station with New Supplies for NASA

SpaceX recently signed a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to provide resupply missions for the International Space Station in the next few years. Their next launch will be on March 16^th, when the Falcon 9 will carry 8,000 pounds of cargo into space.

The Falcon 9 rocket will be launched with the Dragon spacecraft, which will be holding the supplies in its pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk. Right now, the Dragon spacecraft is only suitable for delivering cargo, but it will soon be able to carry astronauts into space.

The launch is scheduled for 4:41 a.m. on March 16^th and it's expected to arrive on March 18^th at 6:59 a.m. The Dragon spacecraft is the only reusable part of the rocket mission, as the Falcon will fall into the ocean after its tank of gas runs out. SpaceX is currently trying to figure out ways to reuse these rockets instead of discarding them, especially because the cost of sending materials to space is astronomically expensive.

"We build rockets that cost over $100 million each. We use them once, then we throw them away. It's like buying a Rolls-Royce, driving it until its first tank of gas runs out, ditching it, then buying another Rolls," said the Space Development Steering Committee, who works closely with SpaceX to further develop space technology and efficiency. This Fox News article provides more insight from experts.

Because the rockets are discarded after launch, SpaceX charges $38,000 per pound of cargo sent to space, the Space Development Steering Committee believes that the price can be lowered all the way to $10 per pound if the rockets can eventually be reused. That means that the cost of this mission is at least $304 million.

This is SpaceX's first mission to the space station since last March, which was the NASA Resupply to ISS Flight #2 by the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX's contract with NASA runs through 2016 and spans 12 missions over its duration. You can visit the Launch Manifest webpage on SpaceX's website to view upcoming and completed space missions.

To read more about the March 16^th launch, visit this Fox News article as well as this Space.com article.