SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 is expected to take to the skies soon, with a launch date that’s just over a month away.
If the rocket is able to get to orbit safely, SpaceX has promised that it will take the rocket to a speed of more than 1,000 mph and make it to the International Space Station within five years.
If NASA decides to go ahead with its plan, then SpaceX would be the first to attempt to reach space in a rocket and the only one capable of doing so.
The company has so far only successfully sent satellites into orbit.
While SpaceX has a history of successfully launching vehicles, the Falcon 9 won’t be the only launch company capable of putting a rocket into orbit at the moment.
The U.S. Air Force has already launched a Falcon 9 and its first mission, an Orion spacecraft that was supposed to be sent into orbit on the first mission of its Space Launch System rocket.
Despite its promise, NASA’s own Orion spacecraft hasn’t been launched yet.
This is not the first time NASA has tried to launch a rocket with a cargo craft.
In 2015, NASA launched a crewed Orion spacecraft with supplies aboard it.
NASA’s own crewed spacecraft has also been the subject of some controversy.
A U.K.-based company called Orbital Sciences announced in November that it had successfully launched a capsule with supplies to the ISS and then returned the capsule to Earth.
Orbital Sciences, however, also announced that it was working on a mission to bring supplies to a station crew in the future.
