OTD in Space – June 4: Falcon 9 Rocket Reaches Orbit

On June 4, 2010, the first Falcon 9 rocket built by SpaceX blasted off from Cape Canaveral on its maiden voyage and reached orbit. Space Exploration Technologies, or Space X, was founded by billionaire Elon Musk, an internet entrepreneur who co-founded PayPal and leads Tesla Motors. The rocket almost didn't leave that day. It came close to the end of its 4-hour launch window because of an issue with the Flight Termination System. But it was able to successfully launch and officially began its $1.6 billion contract with NASA to deliver 20 tons of cargo to the ISS over 12 Dragon flights through 2016. The rocket carried a prototype Dragon spacecraft designed for cargo trips to the International Space Station. SpaceX began official NASA delivery flights with Dragon and Falcon 9 at the end of 2010.