SpaceX Rocket Achieves Earth Orbit on First Flight

SpaceX Rocket Achieves Earth Orbit on First Flight

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Space Exploration Technologies launched its Falcon 9 rocket into earth orbit on its inaugural flight today, a key milestone in the startup’s plan to take cargo into space once the last of the space shuttles retires.

The two stage, 180-foot rocket left the pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at about 2:45 p.m. Eastern. It achieved earth orbit nine minutes later. The lauch this afternoon followed several delays earlier in the day including a sailboat that had wandered into an off limits area near the launch site and an attempt that was aborted just seconds before ignition due

(visit the link for the full news article)

If I'm not mistaken, this marks the start of private space exploration and orbital delivery. Backed by contracts, these companies already have a lineup of payload to get into orbit. This is the first company that has proven ready.

It seems this also means that private companies are able to do the same job that NASA had done. I know many cried over the cuts in NASA to stop the shuttle mission, yet here is a replacement.





www.wired.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 5-6-2010 by dzonatas]

You beat me to it! Good thread! It would have been more impressive if SpaceX didn't need a billion dollar hand-out from NASA, but the age of private sector space-faring has arrived. (Also, what's with the kerosene and LOX? People have been using that combo, quite literally, for 100 years now!)

reply to post by DJW001


The main engine is called Merlin:

With a vacuum specific impulse of 304s, Merlin is the highest performance gas generator cycle kerosene engine ever built, exceeding the Boeing Delta II main engine, the Lockheed Atlas II main engine and the Saturn V F-1.

Source: SpaceX Falcon 9

I remember awhile ago that NASA stated it wanted to ditch the shuttle for Saturn V deployment. It looks like that's not gonna happen now with private companies in place.

No question, Merlin is very sophisticated and I would definitely buy shares of SpaceX if it were traded publicly. As it is, I'm invested in SpaceDev, whose engines burn recycled old tires. Seriously,

Does this mean that with private companies, space exploration as we know it will change? That would be great news. Hopefully they won't keep what they find a secret like NASA.

reply to post by divinetragedy79


Things will certainly change, but unlike NASA, the private sector is not under any obligation to share their discoveries. NASA does not keep secrets, save for those that have been deemed so in the interest of national security. NASA's free sharing of information is what has permitted the private sector to skip ahead in their R&D,

reply to post by divinetragedy79


There was a lot of blame put on Obama for cuts to the NASA program. I wonder now if those cuts were previously planned after this kind of event.

How will it have affect the view of the NASA cuts if private companies already made proven steps into space?

reply to post by dzonatas


It's about time!
Finally the world can throw off the yoke of "Governmental" Space programs and the economic expansion into and commercial development of space can begin. This was always the next inevitable step towards becoming a space faring race. One more tiny step

Bravo.

PEACE
Slay

G'day all,

After watching the Vid it is my guess that the spiral every body saw from down here in Australia was the Space X rocket, Page you were right again.

This is so awesome! S+F!!

I hope this becomes a norm for everyday people. Though I can see some governments (USA I'm looking in your direction) create legislation on hampering private companies and individuals from achieving free reign on space flight without the involvement of government space agencies.

reply to post by Kernoonos


Falcon 9 was tracked to go right over Australia:

Note how the path goes right over eastern Australia! The timing is perfect, too: about an hour later, the second stage would’ve been halfway around the world, matching the position and time of the UFO sightings.

The spiral pattern seen in Norway is known to be from gas leaking out of the booster. As the booster spins and the gas shoots out, it makes a water-sprinkler spiral pattern in the sky. As it happens, the second stage of the Falcon 9 was rotating; this was not supposed to happen and the SpaceX engineers are looking into it (it didn’t affect the launch adversely; the payload achieved orbit).

Source: Discover Magazine Blog: Oh Those Falcon UFOs




[edit on 5-6-2010 by dzonatas]

reply to post by dzonatas

There was a lot of blame put on Obama for cuts to the NASA program. I wonder now if those cuts were previously planned after this kind of event.

How will it have affect the view of the NASA cuts if private companies already made proven steps into space?

Until such time as private corporations build their own spaceports (and at least one of them already is... looking at you, Virgin Galactic) the "Cape" will remain America's principle spaceport. Although the actual launch services are now outsourced, the KSC stands to become a profit center for the US, like Baikonour is for Khazakhstan.

reply to post by WilliamOneNut


What does this have to do with the topic?

Alien insect overlords insisted on their own way to welcome Dragon into space @T-3s:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/813f66c6cae3.png[/atsimg]

This senator wants more socialism in the space program:

Typical was the reaction of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who represents workers in and around the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“This first successful test flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is a belated sign that efforts to develop modest commercial space cargo capabilities are showing some promising signs. While this test flight was important, the program to demonstrate commercial cargo and crew transport capabilities, which I support, was intended to enhance not replace NASA's own proven abilities to deliver critical cargo and humans to low Earth orbit. Make no mistake, even this modest success is more than a year behind schedule, and the project deadlines of other private space companies continue to slip as well. This test does not change the fact that commercial space program are not ready to close the gap in human spaceflight if the space shuttle is retired this year with no proven replacement capability and the Constellation program is simultaneously cancelled as the President proposes."

Source

reply to post by dzonatas


Why doesn't NASA share all of their shuttle information and knowledge with any company that has the means and the hunger to get into space. We wouldn't be years behind schedule trying to accomplish something that had already been done for 25 years if we weren't hording the information.

Give them the blueprints to the space shuttle and let them redesign it, approve upon it, and fund it themselves. Help them anyway necessary so they we don't take huge steps backwards and stumble down the stairs of space exploration.

The best way to inject some life into the economy would be to create an entire new industry with high-skilled, high-paying jobs that pretty much everyone would bend over backwards and study hard in school to have.