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1st Private Cargo Run To Space Station Now May 19

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on December 8, 2010 from launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida.  (Photo credit: BRUCE WEAVER/AFP/Getty Images)

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on December 8, 2010 from launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo credit: BRUCE WEAVER/AFP/Getty Images)

CAPE CANAVERAL (CBSMiami/AP) —The International Space Station may soon have some new cargo now that a private U.S. company has set a new date for launching a cargo ship to the orbiting outpost.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, said Friday it was now aiming for a May 19 liftoff of its Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule. It will be the first commercial cargo run to the space station.

The launch of the supply ship had been scheduled for Monday but was delayed for more software testing. The test flight is already three months late.

NASA used to stockpile the space station through the shuttles, but the fleet was retired last summer. The space agency wants commercial providers to carry up supplies and eventually astronauts.

In the meantime, NASA is paying Russia to ferry astronauts to the space station.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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