The latest in space exploration: SpaceX launch scheduled for Friday

SpaceX aunches cargo capsule
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon supply ship lifts off from the launch pad on a resupply mission to the International Space Station, on September 21, 2014 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

On The Daily Circuit, we take a look at a number of things on the horizon:

• Friday's SpaceX Falcon launch

• NASA launched the first test flight of its Orion spaceship on Dec. 5, heralding the dawn of a new era in deep space exploration. But all is not well with a spacecraft and launch system that NASA can only afford to launch once every three to four years and has no plans or budget for more than test flights.

• Orbital Sciences Corporation announced it will be sidelined for at least another year following a launch pad explosion in October. This leaves SpaceX as NASA's only commercial provider for cargo flights to the International Space Station for at least the next 12 months.

• Virgin Galactic is building a replacement spaceship as Richard Branson vows to move forward and an investigation continues following last Halloween's fatal crash of SpaceShipTwo.

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