Sam Scimemi congratulates Gwynne Shotwell president of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. or SpaceX on the launch of NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services.

Sam Scimemi, at left, director of International Space Station at NASA Headquarters, congratulates Gwynne Shotwell, president of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, on the successful launch of NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station during a post-launch news conference held in the Press Site auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX built both the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule that launched at 8:35 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett