SpaceX Dragon launched to ISS, page 1

This is a pretty great moment in history! The US commercial space era has finally taken off!

Today at 8:34 PM EDT SpaceX launched CRS-1 to the ISS. This is the first of several planned resupply missions to the ISS, and the first non-demo mission. The rocket, a Falcon 9, is carrying the unmanned Dragon capsule. It is carrying just shy of 900 pounds of cargo, including crew supplies, materials to support ongoing experiments, a whopping 66 new experiments, and station, suit and miscellaneous hardware. When it returns at mission end it will bring with it hardware from several experiments and other items. The Falcon 9 is also carrying a test communications satellite for the launch.

Here's a video of the launch:



It sure was great to hear at the end of the video the phrase, "Launching Dragon to the ISS and returning cargo resupply missions to US soil."

NASA SpaceX CRS-1

reply to post by cmdrkeenkid

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The next step for SpaceX -- a man-rated Dragon.
SpaceX hopes to have its manned version operational in a few years.

reply to post by hoochymama

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i have one problem with privatising space, and thats:

THEY DONT HAVE TO TELL US JACK!!...not like nasa do...

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People

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I believe they want to have it up and running by 2015, with a couple crewed test flights to orbit and dock with the ISS. Hopefully they can make it happen!

reply to post by thePharaoh

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I'm sorry, but I really fail to see the correlation between everything you said. The craft was named Dragon after the song "Puff, the Magic Dragon." Its design and concept dates back to the early 2000s. CRS stands for Commercial Resupply Service, which is a NASA acronym. We all know how NASA loves its acronyms!

reply to post by hoochymama

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It's a big deal because space exploration is finally out of the hands of government organization. In the past all launches were done by government rockets, using government craft, from government pads. This is a big step into the privatization of space exploration, even if it was still launched from a government pad.

Yeah, it is pretty much billionaires funding these exploits. But, its their money and they can invest it in whatever they desire. The technology has also progressed, as well as manufacturing techniques have become less expensive. For example, the cost of the Saturn V program over its lifetime was about US$6.5B. That's nearly US$50B in today's dollars. The SpaceX company as a whole has only spent a fraction of that and has had several launches so far.

reply to post by thePharaoh

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Most of the private companies are pretty transparent. They want to attract investors and keep themselves in the news so interest stays up. Without investors at this stage not many of these companies will get off the ground.

reply to post by cmdrkeenkid

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So, was it the Cost of it or that the Government allowed other's to explore Space?? Why is it that only two Companies were "allowed" to do this. This is only a Government Choice.

reply to post by cmdrkeenkid

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Here's my video of the launch. Too bad clouds obscured MECO.

reply to post by hoochymama

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A number of companies have been trying to develop their own spacecraft to win ISS resupply contracts. It's expensive and difficult. SpaceX has spent 1.2 billion so far if I recall correctly. They're the first, but they will not be the last.

Private space flight finally coming to fruition, as predicted by Hollywood a few years back ( 2006 ) in the movie The Astronaut Farmer - and was predated by several decades when some friends and I, as young kids - enamored by the then brand new space shuttle - plotted to build our own spacecraft out of some garbage cans and duct tape.... all the while trying to figure out where we'd find dynamite enough to launch it. ( Thank GOD kids can't buy dynamite - that's all I'm sayin' ). Fantastic stuff!

And you just know that this guy:



Has a voodoo doll on his nightstand, riddled with needles... and it looks just like this guy





~Heff

reply to post by hoochymama

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Like ngchunter said, it's not that these companies were "allowed" to. It's that they're the leaders in the pack. Also, many private companies are now launching items into space.

Aside from SpaceX's Dragon capsule, there are a few companies with very active programs. Bigelow Aerospace currently has two inflatable modules, Genesis I and Genesis II, in LEO. They are also developing and testing a crewed resuable capsule capable of docking with the ISS and their own planned private space station Orbital Sciences Corporation is planning on launching its own Cygnus capsule on its self-designed Antares rocket later this year. They are also developing their own spaceplane. Copenhagen Suborbitals is working on both suborbital and LEO projects, but they've run into some minor SNAFUs last I heard. And, of course, there is Scaled Composites working with Virgin Galactic, which successfully launched SpaceShipOne into suborbital flight, plans on launching the larger SpaceShipTwo into suborbital flight in the near future, and is developing its next craft, aptly named SpaceShipThree, to achieve LEO and point-point suborbital flight (flying the Kangaroo Route in two hours, versus 20+ hours).

reply to post by Hefficide

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I love that movie! It's one of my favorites. I guess Billy Bob Thornton and space movies I love go hand-in-hand. Also, the Branson-Musk pictures really cracked me up. Well played, sir. Well played.

reply to post by Hefficide

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Elon Musk has a blink-and-you-missed-it cameo in Iron Man 2 in the restaurant scene near the beginning. I can't imagine why he'd want to be seen in a movie where a young billionaire-inventor wants to develop advanced technology to change the world for the better...

haha..its falling apart!!

(cnn) -- The SpaceX Dragon capsule remains on course for the International Space Station despite losing one of nine booster engines, but a satellite launched on the same rocket didn't reach its intended orbit, its operator said Monday.

edition.cnn.com...

Originally posted by thePharaoh

haha..its falling apart!!

That's why it has nine engines. If you lose one, it's not going to be a complete loss. I fail to see why it's funny though.

Here's another link with a video in slow-motion where you can see the engine explode.

arstechnica.com...

But I got to say. The fact that it exploded and the rocket continued on just fine is quite impressive.

reply to post by thePharaoh

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Looks like it has 9 engines but only 4 fairings (not sure if this is latest design but it's a closeup showing the fairings):

rt.com...

It seems like the engine should still work without the fairing, unless the fairing damaged the engine when it came off?

reply to post by jra

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its funny because i dont like privatising space.

look at how tacky it is...its made from a washing up bottle ffs


and what with this sattelite left in lower orbit?...whos responsible for all this junk?

Originally posted by thePharaoh
its funny because i dont like privatising space.

Why not? Government run space programs can be inefficient, bureaucratically bloated which can do more harm than good. I love NASA, but they're at the mercy of the Government. Every time a new president steps in, they go and change NASA's direction and goals and that makes it hard to get anything done. Not to mention all the pork-barrel politics that goes on. Private space companies are immune from that stuff and they can innovate and bring costs down, so that it's more economical for everyone.

Personally I like a 50-50 mix of Gov't and private. There are pros and cons for each side.

and what with this sattelite left in lower orbit?...whos responsible for all this junk?

It's not junk yet.

ORBCOMM Launches Prototype OG2 Satellite
ORBCOMM and Sierra Nevada Corporation engineers have been in contact with the satellite and are working to determine if and the extent to which the orbit can be raised to an operational orbit using the satellite's on-board propulsion system.

reply to post by jra

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you dont think your being idealistic

they could be spying..arming...anything...and they dont have to disclose a thing

just saying

peace

reply to post by jra

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you dont think your being idealistic

they could be spying..arming...anything...and they dont have to disclose a thing

just saying

peace

reply to post by thePharaoh

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You must be fun to have for a next-door neighbor.

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