SpaceX Given Approval For ISS Mission

An anonymous reader sends this snippet from an AFP report: "California-based rocket maker SpaceX said that it will make a test flight in late November to the International Space Station, now that NASA has retired its space shuttle program. 'SpaceX has been hard at work preparing for our next flight — a mission designed to demonstrate that a privately-developed space transportation system can deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS),' the company, also called Space Exploration Technologies, said in a statement. The mission is the second to be carried out by SpaceX, one of a handful of firms competing to make a spaceship to replace the now-defunct US shuttle, which had been used to carry supplies and equipment to the orbiting outpost. 'NASA has given us a November 30, 2011 launch date, which should be followed nine days later by Dragon berthing at the ISS,' the company said." SpaceX has an information sheet for the Dragon capsule, as well as an interesting post about the costs involved in their launches.

Comments

Re:Oh, to be sitting in the Space Station...

[ibsteve2u]

Money that could have saved a very large number of people if invested in improving safety/health in other areas.

You mean the Republicans are going to spend the money saved on improving the safety/health of the American people?

I hadn't realized that; I had rather assumed their declared intent of reducing or eliminating existing social safety nets precluded new safety/health initiatives in other areas.