[Satellite TODAY 08-24-10] SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has successfully completed a high altitude drop test and has met all of the testing program’s objectives, the launch company announced Aug. 23.
    The drop test, conducted Aug. 12, was the last in a series of tests to validate parachute deployment systems and recovery operations before the craft’s first launch. “Data gathered during the drop test will be invaluable as we prepare for the upcoming demonstration flight of the first operational Dragon spacecraft,” SpaceX Vice President of Structures Chris Thompson said in a statement.
    SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft test article in June. SpaceX is scheduled to deliver an operational Dragon to low earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 later this year.  This is the first demonstration flight under its inclusion in NASA‘s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, established in 2006 to encourage private companies to develop commercial space transport capabilities.
    SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and its Falcon 9 launch vehicle have been selected by NASA to deliver supplies to and from the International Space Station starting in 2011.