A private space firm will attempt the first commercial cargo supply trip to the International Space Station (ISS) in February, the U.S. space agency announced Friday. The approval from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) comes a year after Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) became the first private business to launch a capsule into orbit and return it safely to Earth. On February 7, SpaceX will attempt another orbital flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The unmanned Dragon capsule will fly to the space station with a load of supplies. NASA has turned to the private sector to resupply the space station since the retirement of the U.S. space shuttles. ISS partners Russia, Europe, and Japan provide their own cargo ships.
