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SpaceX Eyeing June 4 Window For Falcon 9 Launch

PeterBrett writes "SpaceX has finally announced the window for its first much-awaited Falcon 9 launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. Subject to good weather, the company plans to launch either on Friday, June 4, or Saturday, June 5, with the window opening at 12:00 UTC on each day. As usual, SpaceX will be broadcasting the launch live from its website."

6 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Why? by LWATCDR · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well... Lindbergh got his training flying in the Air Mail service for the US government. The Engine he used was developed mainly for the US Navy because they wanted reliable air cooled engines.
    And Lindbergh was not the first to cross the Atlantic. The first planes to cross the Atlantic was the NC-4 flown by a crew of the US Navy. The first to fly none stop where two englishmen Alcock and Brown in a WWI Vickers Vimy bomber.

    Lindbergh made the first none stop flight from NY to Paris and even then he got a lot of help from the NACA.

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  2. Re:What commercial really means by PeterBrett · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Parent is a complete idiot. Elon no longer has any involvement in PayPal. SpaceX's technology is completely covered by ITAR; I should know, because I considered applying for a job there and was told that, as a non-US citizen, I shouldn't even bother. The Falcon 9 is very much an American rocket built by Americans. There are indeed "no foreign nationals, no outsourced jobs."

    It's unusual to hear someone praising ITAR. ITAR is the reason that non-US organisations generally don't use US launchers for their payloads -- they can't work closely with the launch provider, particularly with respect to the sort of detailed technical information that's often very important in ensuring payload-launcher compatibility. People I've spoken to in the space industry while at conferences in the US frequently bemoan the fact that ITAR heavily restricts their hiring practices, meaning that they often miss out on being able to employ top people.

    ITAR is what's holding the US space programme back.

  3. Re:Kind fo sad really by DerekLyons · · Score: 2, Insightful

    it's sad to think how far we've come (down) since those days when we used to believe that moon bases and giant space stations were just around the corner.

    Believing that is kinda like still believing in the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. It's not realities fault that your unfounded childish fantasies didn't come to pass.

  4. Re:Kind fo sad really by Late+Adopter · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We also thought we'd have jetpacks and flying cars. All that shows is how unrealistic we were (in some cases for reasons that should have been perfectly obvious at the time).

  5. Re:Kind fo sad really by WindBourne · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Well, since Nixon killed Saturn, and botched the shuttle, which lead to the loss of the space lab, we have been downhill since then. However, I think that with the building of the Commercial space, that we will see Americans put on the moon in 2020 to start building a base. Likewise, we will put Americans on Mars to colonize it before 2030. The simple fact is, that LEO is expensive to be in, while putting a base on both the moon and mars is much cheaper. The reason is that ALL material must be brought to LEO, while ultimately both the moon and mars will produce much of their own goods.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  6. Re:What commercial really means by tsotha · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As others have pointed out, this is not how things work in the real world. As far as the US government is concerned, all rocket development is "munition" development. Not only must you get permission to export any rocket or rocket technology developed in the US, as a US national you can't go to another country to work on a rocket project without running afoul of the law. Having foreign nationals working on your rocket falls under the "exporting rocket technology" part.

    This came up a few years back when Armadillo was suffering because they government refused to get its act together. The suggestion made was "well, why don't you start a company in another country and build your rocket there." The answer was eventually determined to be "because everyone would end up in jail".