Washington, Oct 10 - Today, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) issued the following statement congratulating Space X on the successful launch of their Falcon 9 rocket and arrival of the Dragon capsule at the International Space Station (ISS), representing the first of a dozen contracted NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) cargo delivery missions:

“This marks a new era of space exploration in reducing the cost of missions to low-earth orbit. The privately developed Dragon capsule’s successful berthing to ISS is a triumph of America’s ingenuity and the free market system.

“The Dragon capsule is carrying crew supplies, scientific experiments, and hardware to support our astronauts and our science mission while ensuring continuing operations of the $100 billion National Laboratory. The capsule, which will remain attached to the ISS until the end of the month, has the unique capability to bring major supplies and research samples back to Earth.

“Currently, we are forced to rely on Russia to transport astronauts at a cost of $63 million per seat. I applaud NASA and Space X for their commitment to excellence in reducing government costs and restoring U. S. cargo delivery and resupply capability for human spaceflight.

“I look forward to future successful commercial cargo missions as well as the first launch of the Space X manned capsule to space expected within three years.”

Rep. Rohrabacher is a senior member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

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