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Elon Musk's SpaceX Offers Low-Cost Rockets

Posted by michael on from the everyday-low-prices dept.

HobbySpacer writes "The cover article of the latest issue of Aviation Week looks at SpaceX and how its Falcon line of rockets threatens to shake up the space launch industry. Founded by Elon Musk, who also started PayPal, SpaceX is developing the Falcon I (first flight this summer) and Falcon V (first flight in 2005) that will cost as little as 20-30% of what competitors like Orbital Sciences and Boeing charge for comparable vehicles."

15 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ive always wanted to rocket into space at an affordable price and parachute down.

    I cant see any problems with this plan.

  2. What a deal... by jwthompson2 · · Score: 3, Funny
    SpaceX wants to fly up to three Falcon I missions in 2004 at a $5.9-million list price per flight...

    If I max out my credit I will be 3/5900ths of the way to my own launch...woo hoo! Yay for the people who need this stuff though.

    --
    Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. -Martin Luther
  3. Well by odano · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now the real question is: Where the hell are you going to go?

  4. And, with a 50% discount by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    You can send two up and still probably get it done with the 50% failure rate.

  5. minus paragraphs, minus line breaks... by HarveyBirdman · · Score: 4, Funny
    *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH*

    *BAM!*

    Damn! That dense block of unbroken text just jumped out right in front of me. Thank goodness my browser has airbags.

    Everyone else OK?

    --
    --- Ban humanity.
  6. They make rockets? by HarveyBirdman · · Score: 4, Funny
    I splash on a little Elon Musk every morning after shaving.

    It makes me smell sweet and alluring.

    --
    --- Ban humanity.
  7. Discount Rockets by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Funny
    It's just a matter of time before we have ads like this on the toob:

    Save! Save! Save!

    Save 20% to 50% off other leading brands of rockets at SpaceX Rocket-O-Rama! Come on down and bring the whole family, first 25 in the door get a free gift pack of Sunscreen, SpaceX Sunhat and Binoculars. Be the first on your block to put a mouse, dog, rabbit, chicken or chimpanzee into orbit! (Children not recommended) Why settle for mini-cams around your house, when you can monitor security from space, or watch your neighbor's house or the whole town! Always know where your spouse or kids are! Act now, launch windows are going fast!

    it's going to be just like the Jetsons...

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Discount Rockets by superdan2k · · Score: 3, Funny
      I'm looking forward to getting this one in my inbox:
      Y0U S4VE NOW ON LAUNCH SERVICES! BE A MAN AND PUT YOUR V1AGRA SUPPLY IN A SAFE PLACE ON MOON SURFACE, SOLD BY LUN4R EMB4SSY!
      You know it's going to happen.
      --
      blog |
  8. A Rocket Scientist? by amigoro · · Score: 4, Funny
    So a Rocket Scientist created paypal, huh?

    That explains a lot.

    Moderate this comment
    Negative: Offtopic Flamebait Troll Redundant
    Positive: Insightful Interesting Informative Funny

    --


    Nothing to see here
  9. The secret, revealed! by Spoing · · Score: 2, Funny

    "You see, it's our patented water compressor unit over there...well, that, and of course the 10,000 kids used to push the plunger."

    --
    A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
  10. Re:It is reusable by pegr · · Score: 4, Funny

    And all that for less than 100 million $. For that kind of money, NASA could probably produce a really nice paper study, but nothing that gets off the ground.

    You could climb up on the paper...

  11. BAD Idea Boeing is actually well armed by greywar · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The SpaceX Falcon rocket project will specifically target Boeing..." BAD Idea Boeing is actually well armed.

  12. Re:Nice protection of IP... by InfiniteWisdom · · Score: 2, Funny

    They had to unscrew the access panels to look inside, right? I think that counts as circumvention of copy-protection mechanisms. Its DMCA time, baby!

  13. Re:Zero G nookie by MachDelta · · Score: 3, Funny
    Hmm.... perhaps 'step 2' is selling weightless sex trips?
    Pfft. Only chicks would need an expensive and exotic item (like a rocket) to get off. All guys need is a 747 on one of them parabolic flight paths. 30 seconds of weightlessness? Thats plenty of time!
  14. payment by nazsco · · Score: 2, Funny

    Can i pay my satelite launch trhu PayPal?