By TOM PETERSON, Associated PressSpaceX has a new mission.
The company’s new Mariner 1 spacecraft will launch on Dec. 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the company announced Wednesday.
The mission will be the first to test its capabilities to send an unmanned spacecraft to a distant planet in the solar system.
Mariner 1 is a rocket booster designed to send a payload to a destination in space.
It will have a length of 572 feet (230 meters), a payload bay that can hold up to 7.6 tons (14,600 kilograms), and launch mass of more than 5 tons (3,100 kilograms) with an inclination of 22 degrees.
It’s a long way from Mars, which is roughly 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers).NASA is using Mariner to study the solar winds and how they interact with the atmosphere.
It will also be a test of a new way to send robotic probes to the surface of Mars.
The spacecraft will be capable of sending a payload that is about as heavy as a large, heavy cargo plane, and can stay in space for weeks at a time.
The spacecraft will not be used to fly around Mars.
It’s intended for the exploration of the planets surface, the spacecraft itself, and for studying the evolution of the solar wind.
The rocket booster’s maiden flight will be made from Cape Kennedy in Florida.
NASA says it is the first commercial launch to be conducted from the Florida coast.
The launch is a milestone for the company and for NASA.
It is the only time that a rocket launch from the United States will be carried out from Cape, NASA said in a statement.
The Mariner mission is part of the company’s ambitious plan to build a fleet of long-range rockets that could be used in future missions to Mars.
Mariners mission is a test flight that is aimed at demonstrating the capability of Mariner’s payload system.
It also will test the capability to carry more cargo to a space station, as well as how the rocket system performs in the vacuum of space.
The first payload launched from the company will be a sample of Martian soil and a sample from the moon.
The sample will be sent back to Earth in a capsule on a planned flight from Cape.
NASA said the capsule is being built by a company called Spacecraft Development Corporation.