KSC-2012-5657

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In a close-up view, the Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, Falcon 9 rocket with Dragon capsule attached on top begins a rollout demonstration test to Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Preparations continue for NASA’s first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. The rollout to the pad for liftoff is planned for Sunday morning, Oct. 7. Liftoff from CCAFS is scheduled during an instantaneous window at 8:35 p.m. EDT Sunday evening. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. To learn more, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann