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| Science & Technology |
| Privately developed SpaceX Falcon 'to fly cargo' |
| 2010-03-15 |
| Space Exploration Technologies successfully test fired its Falcon 9 rocket this weekend, clearing a milestone toward the inaugural flight of a privately developed spaceship to fly cargo, and possibly astronauts, into orbit, the company said. Saturday's 3.5-second 'static' firing of the Falcon's nine kerosene and liquid oxygen-burning motors took place on a refurbished oceanside launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It followed an earlier firing test aborted last week due to an improperly configured valve. The successful test by California-based SpaceX clears the way for Falcon 9's debut mission -- a demonstration flight which could take place as early as April 12 from the same launch site, just south of the space shuttle launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center. President Barack Obama has proposed adding $6 billion to space agency NASA's budget over the next five years to help private firms like SpaceX develop spaceships that can ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, which he wants to continue until at least 2020. With the NASA shuttle fleet retiring due to safety and cost concerns, the U.S. agency has turned over space station crew transport to the Russian government at a cost of about $15 million per seat. Obama plans to hold a summit in Florida next month to discuss the U.S. space plans and industry. SpaceX, owned and operated by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, already holds NASA contracts worth nearly $1.9 billion to develop and fly Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon capsules for space station cargo resupply missions. Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp has NASA contracts of similar value for its Taurus II-Cygnus system, which is scheduled to debut next year. SpaceX says it needs about three years to develop a launch escape system for Dragon and other upgrades to have Falcon 9 ready for passenger service. "What we are going through right now is the equivalent of 'beta testing'," Musk, SpaceX's founder and chief executive, wrote in an email after last week's aborted test. "The beta phase only ends when a rocket has done at least one, but arguably two or three consecutive flights to orbit," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 Let's hope it gets away and all goes as planned on April 12, 49th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight, so we can raise our glasses to Yuri and the SpaceX crew that night. |
| Posted by: Aussie Mike 2010-03-15 19:32 |
| #5 I look at this from an entirely different angle. Private spacecraft is the way to go. No government crap, just clear flights similar to the FAA system to avoid collisions, and inform the Military so you don't get tracked as Hostile, then lift. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-03-15 13:13 |
| #4 Better late than never. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-03-15 10:11 |
| #3 'To Fly Cargo' To where? The station. Mighty singular function that has returned what in practical application other than to consume resources. Disney already is having a challenging time with their existing resort system to make the station a unique destination get away. About the only cargo that would seem to have a profit potential would be for South American drug runners. If you can afford submarines, you probably could look at an alternative means of transportation. Stripping out redundant backup systems and getting a |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-03-15 09:50 |
| #2 Alan Grayson on private space flight, Alan Grayson a gift that keeps on giving. |
| Posted by: Don Vito Anginegum8261 2010-03-15 08:25 |
| #1 ION WMF > GLOBAL STRIKE OPERATIONS [GSO]: US/USAF PREPARES TO LAUNCH GLOBAL DETERRENT FORCE TO BECOME WORLD STRATEGIC BOMBING'S "UNCONTESTED TOP DOG". Global Strike Command = "Prompt Strike". * WAFF > [Strategypage]AVOIDING ANOTHER PEARL HARBOR. KIMMIE = NORTH KOREA will prob need another TEN YEARS [2010 thru 2020] TO BE ABLE TO DEV, MANUFACTURE INDIGENOUS LR MISSLES WID NUCLEAR, OTHER ADVANC STRATEGIC WARHEADS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-03-15 01:41 |