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SpaceX Boosts Malaysian Satellite Into Orbit

Posted by timothy on from the congratulations-to-mister-musk dept.

Soychemist writes "On the same day that yet another shuttle launch was postponed, SpaceX successfully carried a Malaysian satellite, RazakSAT, into orbit. This is the second successful launch in a row for Elon Musk's space exploration startup. Later this year the company will launch its larger Falcon 9 rocket, which could be used to carry cargo to the International Space Station. RazakSAT was designed by ATSB and carries a high resolution camera. If it is intact, the satellite will take photographs of Earth that could be used to better manage natural resources." Adds xp65: "The satellite was separated from the Falcon 1 about 48 minutes after liftoff at 3:35 GMT (11:35 pm EDT). The orbit is 685 km and 9 degrees inclination. Launch was delayed several times due to a faulty helium valve on the ground and bad weather at the launch site at Kwajalein. This was the fifth flight of the Falcon 1 rocket, with the last two flights being succesful. Later this year the inaugural flight of the larger Falcon 9 rocket is planned from Cape Canaveral."

12 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. RazakSAT by smittyoneeach · · Score: 4, Funny

    RazakSAT!
    Well, how 'bout that?
    Truly a moment to savor.
    In the lee of the Earth she's a hairy boar,
    But by light she's a hell of a shaver.
    Burma Shave

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
  2. Launch video by jeti · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Wired article also embeds the complete launch video.

  3. Comparison to Space Shuttle invalid by Big+Smirk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, I know, its good to make fun of NASA and its shuttle program.

    I guess it doesn't take long for the public to remember that the space shuttle carries humans and thus is subject to a completely different set of requirements. Loose a Malaysian satellite - who cares, they are insured (BTW the insurance rate is of course based in part on the success/failure rate).

    Not to mention the shuttle is in a completely different payload class, and more importantly, it is used with hundreds of thousands of miles on the air frame.

    From the bottom of the article "Now 0-for-3, SpaceXâ(TM)s Elon Musk Vows to Make Orbit". While the shuttle has had its failures, its record is slightly better.

    Yes, Soychemist, you are an ass.

    --
    TODO: create/find/steal funny sig.
    1. Re:Comparison to Space Shuttle invalid by kaiser423 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, that whole human rated thing, and the fact that SpaceX launched from Kwaj atoll in the Pacific where the storm that's over Florida isn't.

      NO ONE launches satellites into known lightning storms, and if there had been a storm over Kwaj they would have scrubbed also. In fact, they did have to wait for rain showers to pass.

    2. Re:Comparison to Space Shuttle invalid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      NO ONE launches satellites into known lightning storms, and if there had been a storm over Kwaj they would have scrubbed also. In fact, they did have to wait for rain showers to pass.

      Not to mention the launch scrub followed by a three-month delay due to the fact that they were worried about the vibration environment of the launch damaging the satellite and decided to do a new engineering analysis.

      Which was the right thing to do, of course. If you're not sure, don't launch.

      Nevertheless, when NASA delays a launch to do a safety check, everybody complains how incompetent they are. When Space-X delays, everybody praises them for being cautious.

      Still: Good job! Keep up the good work!

    3. Re:Comparison to Space Shuttle invalid by FleaPlus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Nevertheless, when NASA delays a launch to do a safety check, everybody complains how incompetent they are. When Space-X delays, everybody praises them for being cautious.

      The difference is that SpaceX's delays have been due to them trying out a totally brand-new rocket design and launch support system. The Space Shuttle, on the other hand, has been around for quite a while, and most of the delays (besides the weather-related ones) are due to the inherent technical finickiness of the Shuttle design. And of course, most of the weather-related delays can be blamed on the fact that it's a ground-based launch system situated in the thunderstorm capital of the US.

      SpaceX's launch procedures are designed to be as efficient and timely as possible, with a number of automated safety checks. Heck, even for yesterday's launch it turned out that there was a malfunction in the helium-loading equipment, which was quickly fixed and just resulted in a delay of a few hours. For the Shuttle, I imagine a malfunction like that could easily result in a delay of days.

  4. US$30,000 toilet seats by Ritz_Just_Ritz · · Score: 3, Funny

    In a blow to the domestic economy, American defense contractors have re-adjusted their bids. In light of new competition, next generation shuttle toilet seats will now only cost US$20,000. It's all Elon's fault.

  5. 747 Sized Orbiting Hull -- For Free by StCredZero · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Let's start a commercial space station. First, connect a module to the ISS. Then, when those idiots plan to burn it down in 2016 via re-entry, disconnect it and start a new space station with that single module.

    The Space Shuttle external tanks are the close to the size of a 747 hull and have to make it to orbit with the Shuttle. (Otherwise it would run out of fuel!) Also, they contain hydrogen and O2, which evaporate completely, leaving an empty, non-toxic hull capable of supporting atmospheric pressures. Lots of people have proposed using them as the basis of really large space stations.

    http://www.freemars.org/studies/torus/ettoru2.html

    1. Re:747 Sized Orbiting Hull -- For Free by ankhank · · Score: 2, Informative

      > Shuttle external tanks ... have to make it to orbit with the Shuttle.
      > (Otherwise it would run out of fuel!)

      Yeah, that's why there are so many of them up there in orbit now, one per successful Shuttle launch. They have to keep sending up more fuel to deorbit the damned things so they don't bump into each other.

      Oh, wait, wrong universe. In this one:

      "When more than 97 percent of orbital speed is attained, the ET is detached from the Shuttle Orbiter and directed to cross Earth's atmosphere to burn up Skylab-like with remnants falling into a remote section of the Indian Ocean. The ET cannot be returned to Earth for reuse on later launches because it cannot be returned without burning up in Earth's atmosphere, unlike the Boosters which detach themselves early before high speeds are attained. Currently, the ET is just thrown away" (Prado, 1997, p. 1).
      http://aeromaster.tripod.com/paper1.htm

    2. Re:747 Sized Orbiting Hull -- For Free by icebrain · · Score: 3, Interesting

      They deliberately shut down just a hair early to make sure the tank re-enters where they want it to. The shuttle could easily bring the tank all the way to orbit, albeit at a slight payload hit.

      Well, that, and there's also the problem of having to recompute the launch trajectory a bit, and having to figure out some way to maneuver the tank after it's jettisoned.

      So yeah. It's not done now, but it could have been done relatively easily had it been desired.

      --
      The meek may inherit the earth, but the strong shall take the stars.
  6. The future of space business by snot.dotted · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wow, that video of the launch was awesome! There's still stuff that can make my jaw drop. Its a testament to the technical prowess of the USA and the engineers working at SpaceX, this really is the future. On a side note, with more commerical players sucessfully entering the low earth orbit launch business, space junk pollution will come a real big problem in the next decade. Time to launch a space garbage truck!

  7. Re:Green angle by PeterBrett · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Awww... a cute environment angle. All science stores have to have them now I guess.

    You jest, but I work in satellite remote sensing -- and all the research funding is for environmental monitoring and geoscience (and it always has been, since the 1970s or thereabouts). The primary mission for these sorts of payloads is, in fact, environmental monitoring. Nothing cute about it.

    --
    Pirate Party UK