Now, I can't imagine that anyone who'd be following this blog wouldn't already know all this. But just in case...

After a delayed launch on Saturday due to a faulty valve, Space X successfully launched it's Falcon 9 rocket carrying it's unmanned Dragon capsule into space early Tuesday morning. Once the rocket achieved orbit, the capsule itself was then able to successfully decouple and deploy it's own solar array.

On Friday, the capsule will undergo a series of maneuvers near the ISS to confirm it can be controlled well enough to dock with the station. When and if it does, it will then approach near enough for a crew member aboard the ISS to grab the capsule with the station's robotic arm, bringing it in to dock and deliver supplies. Assuming all goes as planned, the Dragon capsule will then return to earth, splashing down in the Pacific ocean off the coast of California, where it will then be retrieved.

If successful, Space X will become the first private company ever to deliver cargo to the ISS.

-Awesome.

-CAINE-

Posted by Youtube user:yesterday2221

Description from Youtube:
"A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night. This movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, El Salvador, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Lake Titicaca, and the Amazon. Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line), a satellite (55sec) and the stars of our galaxy."