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SpaceX's Falcon 9 Successfully Reaches Orbit

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the now-to-build-a-moon-base dept.

terrymaster69 writes "After an aborted launch attempt last week, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon9 rocket Tuesday at 3:44 am EST. SpaceX's founder Elon Musk tweeted: 'Falcon flew perfectly!! Dragon in orbit, comm locked and solar arrays active!! Feels like a giant weight just came off my back :)' The Dragon capsule is scheduled to dock with the ISS on May 25th."

3 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. Re:USA rocks by localman57 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well, come on over, then. We need more people with a can-do attitude. Visa applications are avaialble at your local embassy...

    For those who don't know, Elon Musk was born in South Africa, and left to avoid Military Service in the 80's (which propped up the Apartheid government). He came over here, built paypal into a powerhouse (thorugh a merger, he didn't found it), founded Tesla motors, and he built a rocketship. Hell yeah.

  2. Re:RSA rocks by smpoole7 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    > Thanks to a South African entrepreneur

    No, thanks to an AMERICAN. He immigrated here, accepted citizenship and is now an American. I welcome people like him. If he ever shows up at my doorstep, I'm grilling burgers for him -- anyway he likes. :)

    --
    Cogito, igitur comedam pizza.
  3. That's one way to look at it by brokeninside · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Another way to look at it is that once manned space flight is a reality for private firms, the resulting complications that arise from conflicting interests will result in NASA being re-engineered at least in part as a law enforcement agency. And, once that happens, they will be in a veritable arms race with private concerns. That will drive all sorts of new research and development.