Video: SpaceX puts together highlight reel of historic mission

SpaceX, the Hawthorne firm that became the first private company to visit the International Space Station, in May, produced a video to highlight the historic mission.

The video, below, is chock-full of dramatic rock music, images and sounds from the mission, including:

• May 22: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
• May 23: Dragon orbited Earth as it traveled toward the space station.
• May 24: Dragon’s onboard sensors and flight systems were subjected to a series of tests.
• May 25: Dragon was successfully captured by the station’s robotic arm.
• May 26: U.S. astronaut Don Pettit opened Dragon’s hatch and the astronauts entered the spacecraft.
• May 31: Dragon departed for its return to Earth, carrying a load of cargo for NASA and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

Now that the U.S. has retired its fleet of space shuttles, the company -- officially Space Exploration Technologies Corp. -- wants to begin running regular cargo supply missions this year and eventually deliver astronauts there.

It has not announced the launch date for its next mission, but has a laundry list of goals set for itself.

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Follow W.J. Hennigan on Twitter @wjhenn