Yesterday, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was released from the International Space Station and began its return to Earth. After a few hours and a number of precise maneuvers to set its trajectory, it regularly splashed down into the Pacific Ocean, about 900 kilometers (550 miles) off the coast of Mexico when in the area it was morning.

A group of boats ready for the event took the steps needed to recover the Dragon spacecraft to bring it back to the mainland. Soon, it will be transported to the SpaceX test facility to be processed.

The statements by NASA and SpaceX founder Elon Musk were obviously enthusiastic. The mission was a success and demonstrated the reliability of the Dragon spacecraft. Even the launch delays can be considered in a positive way because they show that the mission control systems work properly.

Now the Dragon spacecraft will start a series of regular flights to the International Space Station, fully replacing the Space Shuttle. In this test flight it brought some stuff back to Earth, demonstrating that it can be used for transporting cargos to and from the International Space Station.

Meanwhile, SpaceX announced that it signed a contract with Intelsat, the world’s largest supplier of satellite services to use the Falcon Heavy rocket for the launch of a satellite in a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

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The Falcon Heavy rocket hasn’t been launched yet and SpaceX will perform all the necessary tests before proceeding with the launch that will carry the Intelsat satellite. This is the third rocket developed by SpaceX Falcon after the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9.

All Falcon rockets using Merlin engines, also developed by SpaceX. The Falcon 1 uses a single Merlin engine and is designed to carry satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). The Falcon 9 uses nine Merlin engines and is used to launch the Dragon spacecraft. The Falcon Heavy rocket consists of a Falcon 9 rocket along with two additional Falcon 9 first stages so it’s using a total of twenty-seven Merlin engines.

The Falcon Heavy is designed to be capable of carrying 53 tons to low earth orbit and 12 tons to geostationary transfer orbit. The only rocket more powerful was the Saturn V used for the Apollo missions but it was bigger and above all far more expensive than the Falcon Heavy.

If the tests go well, SpaceX could proceed with the launch of an Intelsat satellite as early as 2013. It would be another big win for SpaceX and a new milestone for commercial space flights.