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SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon Make It To Orbit
jnaujok writes "This morning the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon capsule lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:43 Eastern time, after an earlier launch had been scrubbed because of a bad telemetry feed. A little over 9 minutes later, the Dragon capsule separated from the second stage into its intended orbit. Part of the COTS (Commercial access To Space) program, this is the first test of the Dragon capsule by SpaceX to prove it can be used to ferry supplies to the ISS. The Dragon capsule will make two or three orbits before returning to Earth about four hours after launch."
It's about time the private sector took to the stars.
I write sci-fi for metalheads
This is pretty amazing, although as I write this it remains to be seen if the capsule re-enters correctly. If so, SpaceX will probably combine its next two missions into one. The first upcoming mission is to perform an ISS flyby, followed by a docking. If all goes well with today's mission (and I expect it will!) then the mission in spring 2011 will be an unmanned resupply mission to the ISS. It's worth noting, though, that the Falcon 9 / Dragon platform is probably not going to be the one taking us to the moon or elsewhere outside of Earth orbit; it was designed to be cheap and fast to develop, which is exactly why SpaceX was able to fly this mission whilst Orion got cancelled. It would take some really heavy modification to even do a lunar flyby. For now, though, it seems like exactly what we need. If these flights prove to be reliable and inexpensive, then the supply and personnel lines to the ISS are secured, and it'll probably pave the way for Bigelow's space station to launch in a couple years.
Take off every sig. For great justice.
First, I find this very exciting. As a child, I thought it would be just a matter of time before I could buy a plane ticket to the moon. That is how space was advertised to us in the early 70's... It has not turned out that way, but I am excited to see some progress.
What I would love to see is total cost per pound of payload. It seems like NASA hasn't done much to lower than number over the past three decades, and am curious to know what efficiencies Space X has attained. Anyone know where to find this info?
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
COTS is cheap (or commercial) off the shelf, not as the summary has it cheap access to space, which would be CATS.
Huge congrats to SpaceX on their achievements in both, though.
-- Alastair
The official SpaceX video (which includes things like a view from the rocket itself) hasn't been released yet, but CNN has posted NASA's video here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/12/08/space.flight/
Ongoing updates will be posted to SpaceX's twitter account. The Dragon capsule is expected to orbit the Earth a few times and then land off the California coast about three hours after the launch, and SpaceX has announced that they're doing a press conference an hour or two after the landing.
Personnel and supply lines to the ISS are already secure with Soyuz and Ariane, but perhaps you meant "secured by US owned and launched missions"?
Soyuz definitely has proven to be reliable over the last 40 years, and Ariane missions have a good track record. Probably reliable as long as you keep paying. But I understand the USA wants US flight capability. Not sure how much cheaper Falcon/SpaceX will be though. I'd be interested to see figures.
I didn't get around to making this a separate submission, but I figure folks might be interested in another SpaceX-related news item from an interview with Elon Musk. As some of you know, Congress has mandated that NASA construct a super-heavy lift rocket (at least 75mt payload) by 2016. This is expected to use cost-plus contracts, utilize as many Shuttle components/workers as possible, and is expected to cost at least $10B.
SpaceX has another (IMHO much better) proposal, though, which would be to build a 150mt rocket that's essentially an upgrade of the rocket which was launched today. This rocket would be able to lift heavier payloads than the Saturn V. SpaceX proposed to do this with a $2.5B fixed-price contract, where SpaceX eats any cost above this amount. Some remarks from Musk on this:
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/06/5600599-spacex-gets-set-for-next-giant-leap
He's even starting to think ahead to the next giant leap -- the development of a super-heavy-lift rocket, more powerful than the Apollo era's Saturn 5, which could put 150 metric tons of payload into Earth orbit. Musk said facilities in Utah, Alabama, Ohio, Florida and other places around the country could be involved in the project, and he's willing to build the rocket for $2.5 billion. "Anything above that, SpaceX will pay for," he promised. ...
Musk said his $2.5 billion figure for a super-heavy-lift rocket was based in part on the concept that 80 percent of the money Congress is expected to devote to heavy-lift development would go toward the standard cost-plus method for funding spacecraft development, with 20 percent going to the kind of fixed-price, milestone-based approach that is being used for the NASA program that's funding SpaceX's effort. "I find myself in this bizarre position where people are saying, 'You couldn't possibly do it for such a low amount as $2.5 billion,'" he said. "And actually, I have trouble trying to figure out how we'd spend so much money. In order to get to $2.5 billion, I'd have to assume that a whole bunch of things go horribly wrong during the development process."
Correction, this was accomplished by an extraordinarily talented team of engineers and technicians hired and paid by by Musk. let us not forget the worker bees that prop up the queen of the hive. That said, yes, if it wasn't for Musk's vision, this bird wouldn't be flying.
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Couldnt launch the shuttle at that temperature. Cocoa Beach was in the low 50s they wont launch the shuttle under 53 degrees.
Who the hell is writing the live launch blog?
"One day I will go back to space. Like, without using pills."
"I disagree with you" does not equal "flamebait."
I think I speak for all of us when I say "EEEEEEEEE!" and do a little dance.
No OS on the planet can protect itself from a user with the admin password. - Yvan256
Space is becoming something accessible through private channels. Not that there's anything wrong with governmental space programs, but those are best when they're cutting edge, when they're doing things that no private company could hope to do. When the private sector takes over the everyday, to-and-fro, supply and shuttling capabilities, perhaps NASA will be driven to explore more advanced technologies.
This is a big step towards space travel being an everyday thing. Once initiatives like this become more common, there will be a huge foundation upon which to build even greater missions.
What do you mean "supposed to be"?
It seems that a lot of his wealth is already flowing and the guy is probably a couple decades from his death and he intends this funding to last 50 years after his death.
And while I agree that what SpaceX is doing is of great importance, I think that Bill's contributions to education is a much more worthy cause to invest in. Let SpaceX make their money, let Bill focus on the human element.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Hmmm, here's an interesting little bit of info. Apparently the NRO bolted a few cubesats to the side of this rocket as well. They deployed successfully according to Spaceflightnow's live blog update. I can't find much information on the little guys (and probably won't since they are NRO) but wikipedia confirms that there was a secondary payload on this test. Apparently some government offices already feel that the Falcon 9 is worthy enough to carry their goods.
Also, pretty pictures of the launch.
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NASA is seriously hampered by the fact that its purse strings are controlled by a senator who runs the state where the solid rocket boosters are made. Therefore, No SRBs - no money for NASA.
NASA has also been seriously hampered by internal politics, which has caused a whole bunch of things to go horribly wrong. *cough* Griffin's "Stick" *cough*
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Great idea! Let's kill off funding to the only United States organization doing research outside of low earth orbit! It's not like they've ever done, or are currently doing, anything interesting or useful!
Damn, stupid AC's.
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Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (the airforce base just north of Cocoa Beach on the east coast of florida on a strip of land which is ultimatly called Cape Canaveral).
Kennedy Space Center (the nasa facility just to the north west of Cape Canaveral Air force station on nearby Merritt Island).
Here's a helpful map from the wikipedia...
As you can see, Launch Complex 39 (located about 1/2 way between the two) and is technically part of the Kennedy Space Center.
The common confusion is that in 1963, Congress, in their infinite wisdom, renamed Cape Canaveral to Cape Kennedy. However, as it turned out, they didn't have the full authority to do that. Apparently the Cape's official name on international maps was under the juristiction of some international maritime treaty (UN, IHO?), so it could only be named Cape Kennedy on US-specific maps. Of course most of the US govt went along including the US Board on Geographic names (which means it got into some US official maps), but eventually everyone conceded and changed the name back in 1973 due to local pressure (there's actually a town called Cape Canaveral on the southern part of Cape Canaveral) and to avoid general confusion.
If you think naming of a place is just a silly argument, tell that to the people who live in New Amsterdam (aka New York), or are visiting Danali national park and looking at the "big-one" Mt Denali (or Mt McKinley to Ohio-ans), or maybe google Sea of Japan naming dispute to witness a naming dispute of international consequences...
When you see all those reporters at a morning launch, they often get a closer view and may actually be on the cape, rather than on KSC, so that may only add to the confusion.
I'm guessing next will be the Commercially Underfunded Transportation to Space program, or as businessmen call it, CUTS.
http://twitter.com/SpaceXer
"SpaceX is the first commercial company to reenter a spacecraft from space!"
The actual geographic feature is named Cape Canaveral. It was temporarily changed to Cape Kennedy, but eventually reverted to Canaveral. The NASA installation there is named "Kennedy Space Center" while the US Air Force launch complex is Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and is immediately adjacent to KSC.
The western counterpart to CCAFS is Vandenberg Air Force Base. Due to geography, polar orbiting spacecraft can't be launched from Florida without either overflying land at low altitude (risky) or by doing a dog-leg flight (incurring a huge payload penalty). Vandenberg, on the other hand, allows for polar launches without overflying land.
...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
No, we don't. Because those of us with a sense of context know that this 1950's technology is going to make spaceflight much cheaper for everyone involved. We also know that the CEO of the company that just achieved this milestone intends to retire on Mars. I would say that these types of tests, therefore, help him get one step closer to that dream and, therefore, they are newsworthy. Finally, it demonstrates the abilities of a company that, ostensibly, will be selling access to space independent of government funding and, therefore, gerrymandered and corrupt political decisions. This is very newsworthy, especially to us nerds.
Now go back to trolling on Reddit or something.
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Update: The Dragon has successfully made a soft landing in the Pacific! This makes it the first-ever commercial spacecraft to return from orbit, and the first American capsule splash-down since 1975. A recovery vessel has already arrived at the capsule and is currently attaching floatation devices to it. NASA and SpaceX are doing a press conference as early as 3:30pm EST, which will presumably be broadcast both on NASA TV and SpaceX's website.
SpaceX has also released a video pointing out a window of the Dragon capsule while in orbit. They apparently also have video of the descent and presumably more video from inside the capsule which will soon be available.
For more updates:
http://twitter.com/SpaceXer
http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/002/status.html