SpaceX is fulfilling its third private resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with NASA.
According to Space.com, Elon Musk's space company will launch its unmanned Dragon craft on a Falcon 9 rocket Monday, April 14 from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
SpaceX is on the third resupply mission of 12 NASA is paying the company $1.2 billion to perform. Also contracted to resupply the ISS is Orbital Sciences and these two companies represent the future privatization of space travel.
SpaceX and other similar companies also plan to take passengers on commercial rides through space to get a glimpse of the Earth from above. As their technology develops, private space companies plan to go deeper and deeper into space.
NASA announced the Dragon spacecraft will carry about 5,000 pounds of cargo and equipment for scientific experiments. Among the equipment are legs for Robonaut 2, a human-like robot who will one day assist ISS crewmembers with daily tasks.
"These new legs, funded by NASA's Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology mission directorates, will provide R2 [Robonaut 2] the mobility it needs to help with regular and repetitive tasks inside and outside the space station," NASA said in a statement last month. "The goal is to free up the crew for more critical work, including scientific research."
SpaceX has had to delay this most recent launch from its original March 31 date due to complications with the ground-based radar control system. Also in the works for SpaceX is a rocket that would land itself back on Earth. The company test flew a prototype without the rocket leaving the Earth's atmosphere are were successful, but flying to the ISS and landing again remains its ultimate challenge. It is unclear when SpaceX will attempt that.
Space.com will air NASA TV's coverage of the Dragon spacecraft's launch Monday starting at 3:45 p.m. ET.
