Video: SpaceX puts together highlight reel of historic mission

By W.J. Hennigan

July 18, 2012 12 AM PT

SpaceX, the Hawthorne firm that became the first private company to visit the International Space Station, in May, produced a video to highlight the historic mission.

The video, below, is chock-full of dramatic rock music, images and sounds from the mission, including:

May 22: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
May 23: Dragon orbited Earth as it traveled toward the space station.
May 24: Dragon’s onboard sensors and flight systems were subjected to a series of tests.
May 25: Dragon was successfully captured by the station’s robotic arm.
May 26: U.S. astronaut Don Pettit opened Dragon’s hatch and the astronauts entered the spacecraft.
May 31: Dragon departed for its return to Earth, carrying a load of cargo for NASA and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

Now that the U.S. has retired its fleet of space shuttles, the company -- officially Space Exploration Technologies Corp. -- wants to begin running regular cargo supply missions this year and eventually deliver astronauts there.

It has not announced the launch date for its next mission, but has a laundry list of goals set for itself.

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Follow W.J. Hennigan on Twitter @wjhenn