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SpaceX announces new Falcon 1 launch date

Posted by Hemos on from the trying-to-make-it-this-year dept.

mj_1903 writes "In an extremely frank and open post, SpaceX has announced that the maiden flight of their totally private spacecraft will be held no earlier than the 20th of December. They also outline the mistakes that kept them on the ground including leaving a small valve open that allowed precious liquid oxygen to boil off and the difficulties in getting oxidiser to a remote site. More coverage at Spaceflight Now."

16 comments

  1. One thing to be said for private flights... by PurifyYourMind · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...is that they probably don't have the enormous amounts of red tape that NASA projects have to wade through. It's incredible how delayed and expensive NASA's projects get because they spend so much time trying to achieve perfect safety these days. Looking our for your astronauts is laudable, but they're just going too far lately. This last manned shuttle flight... what was it, like two years extra they spent trying to avoid another foam problem... and they had one anyway? Of course, NASA is dealing with millions of funding people (you and I, taxpayers) keeping tabs on them via the news outlets, so maybe the private endevours would fall under the same kind of scrutiny if they ever became super popular.

    1. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by Glock27 · · Score: 2, Interesting
      so maybe the private endevours would fall under the same kind of scrutiny if they ever became super popular.

      SpaceX should face no such "scrutiny", except from shareholders. We fund NASA, therefore it's accountable to us. SpaceX is a private venture, and as long as it's only lofting cargo payloads it should be fairly immune to public scrutiny.

      (Note that if there are launch failures, SpaceX will likely die quickly.)

      --
      Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
      Score: -1 100% Flamebait
    2. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by subterfuge · · Score: 5, Insightful

      fairly immune to public scrutiny

      while I have been waiting most of my life to see private space ventures get off the ground [no pun intended] I fear that we will see rapid and oppressive over-regulation within seconds of the first pieces of a failed launch showering down on 'The Children' [TM].

    3. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by hubie · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There is a HUGE difference between launching people and not. I guarantee you that if this first flight was a manned mission, they would spend just as much effort on the safety issues. For what it is worth, the unmanned rockets (Deltas, etc.) get launched much more frequently and much quicker than shuttles for that very reason, so you should be comparing the cost benefits of the Falcon to the comparable non-manned rockets presently in use.

    4. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by Glock27 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I fear that we will see rapid and oppressive over-regulation within seconds of the first pieces of a failed launch showering down on 'The Children' [TM].

      Since the first flight is from the Marshall Islands, such children will a) have to be floating around on the South Pacific and b) have to ignore the range warnings.

      Some flights will be from Vandenberg, and will also fly over the Pacific.

      Note that SpaceX already operates under the rules for unmanned launch safety, and there have been numerous launch failures that have shaped the existing rules. Again, I don't expect SpaceX to have much trouble as long as it hits its own reliability estimates, and strictly continues to launch non-human payloads.

      Manned flights are another issue. Also, the proposed spaceport in New Mexico may have some "think of the children" issues, sadly enough.

      --
      Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
      Score: -1 100% Flamebait
    5. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      One thing to be said for private flights... is that they probably don't have the enormous amounts of red tape that NASA projects have to wade through. It's incredible how delayed and expensive NASA's projects get
      The first flight of Falcon I has already been delayed over a year. Delays for private flights are common - indeed 90% of all such flights have been delayed indefinitely, because they got to be too expensive. (I.E. the company ran out of money.)
    6. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by iamlucky13 · · Score: 1

      While they are currently flying from the Kwajalein (sp?) and Vandenberg, they have some pretty ambitious plans for expansion. They have hinted at a desire to eventually launch manned capsules, although that is obviously a long ways off. Also, consider if they won a contract to launch a nuclear powered probe. NASA gets enough flak as is with Boeing and Lockheed handling those. I can imagine the whining if NASA trusts a "young upstart company operating on greedy, for-profit principles that has no experience in this sort of thing."

    7. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by subterfuge · · Score: 1

      such children will a) have to be floating around on the South Pacific and b) have to ignore the range warnings.

      So, we have to keep Our Children [Patent Pending] off most of the planet's surface ? If this thing is going into orbit then what 'range' do we have to avoid? I support private space ventures, I really do. I just don't think our society is ready for it and someone IS going to get sued. Sad, but likely true.

    8. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by Glock27 · · Score: 1
      So, we have to keep Our Children [Patent Pending] off most of the planet's surface ?

      Not at all.

      If this thing is going into orbit then what 'range' do we have to avoid?

      Um, the same range you have to avoid right now with the current generation vehicles? lol

      I'll repeat a point from my first post - if SpaceX can't meet its (very ambitious) reliability goals, it won't be a success.

      (BTW if your question was serious, generally the range to avoid is a few tens-hundreds of miles directly downrange. Once the craft reaches near-orbital velocity it's not much of a threat anymore, it'll burn up before hitting. Anyhow, if you're in the Pacific floating around, many things are worse threats than the chance of random space hardware landing on you. A meteorite would be much more likely.)

      I support private space ventures, I really do. I just don't think our society is ready for it and someone IS going to get sued. Sad, but likely true.

      Well, you've touched on another of society's great evils, the fact that lawsuits can be brought with no cause whatever (or for whatever random/worthless cause anyone cares to allege). Off-topic for this discussion though.

      --
      Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
      Score: -1 100% Flamebait
    9. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by gstoddart · · Score: 1
      so maybe the private endevours would fall under the same kind of scrutiny if they ever became super popular.

      SpaceX should face no such "scrutiny", except from shareholders.

      Ummm ... someone better scrutinize them. At a bare minimum they'll have to answer to the FAA/equivelant in most places -- they still need to take off through controlled airspaces.

      Do you really want people lobbing what are effectively missiles without someone holding them accountable and mandating a minimum standard? Not to mention how skittish the people who watch out for missiles and the like would get.

      You're definitely not going to see the 'wild west' of private space travel. Other wise we'd be seeing these suckers crashing into populated areas before long.
      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    10. Re:One thing to be said for private flights... by Wooden7Dummy · · Score: 1

      "I just don't think our society is ready for it and someone IS going to get sued. Sad, but likely true."

      So very very sad, and so very very true.

  2. How about... by cniemira · · Score: 2, Interesting
    no earlier than the 20th of December.

    How about a "no later than" date?

    1. Re:How about... by iamlucky13 · · Score: 1

      They have backed away from setting hard dates because they would rather push it back to cover any problems that can arise than rush into it and make a big fireball. Also, they are once again waiting on the Air Force to give them another launch window.

      Personally, I was encouraged by the straightforward nature of the letter and apparently confident diagnosis of the 2 problems they encountered during last month's countdown.

    2. Re:How about... by brandido · · Score: 1

      My understanding is that they have a luanch window from the 19th (end of missile defense tests) to the 21st (beginnning of holiday shut-down). I know that you were probably referring to delays due to malfunctions, but obviously, that is impossible to say - just like asking what the latest ship date for Duke Nuke-Em forever is :)

      --
      First Falcon-1 to orbit, then Falcon-9. Then I can die a happy man.
    3. Re:How about... by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      How about when it is ready?
      Really this IS ROCKET SCIENCE! If you make a mistake things go boom and lots of time and money are wasted.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.