SpaceX, a private company established by Elon Musk the founder of Paypal, has once again attempted to successfully launch a shuttle into space. This launch comes after the failure of the Falcon 1 (Flight 3). During Flight 3, a problem occurred just after the first separation which prevented the second stage from occurring and from reaching orbit. According to their press release, "SpaceX was aware of and had allowed for a thrust transient, but did not expect it to last that long. As it turned out, a very small increase in the time between commanding main engine shutdown and stage separation would have been enough to save the mission. The fix was also very simple, requiring one line of code to be changed."
The Falcon 1 (Flight 4) is carrying only a payload mass simulator of approximately 364 pounds, the last doomed shuttle was carrying the Trailblazer, two CubeSats (one of which was NASA's NanoSail-D) for the Air Force and MDA and unfortunately, also carried the remains of astronaut Gordon Cooper and the actor James Doohan from Star Trek.
At T+4 minutes into the launch, the Falcon 1 (Flight 4) was at an altitude of 200km and had successfully completed two separations without exploding!
At T+10 minutes the launch has been considered successful and opens the door for the privatization of the exploration of space.
Congratulations to SpaceX for their first successful launch and for making history in being the first private corporation to put a rocket into orbit!
Link: SpaceX
Next stop, the moon.
Then Mars.
Next stop, the moon.
Then Mars.
Well someone has to get to Mars, not like NASA will ever get there, they can't even get back to the Moon as it stands now.
Next stop, the moon.
Then Mars.
Well someone has to get to Mars, not like NASA will ever get there, they can't even get back to the Moon as it stands now.
No point in going back to the moon, it's a dust covered rock. Only purpose it might is a launchpad for future missions to other bodies in our solar system.
They should probably work on cooling the fairing. The Space Shuttle runs the fuel through pipes against the fairing to keep it from glowing red and possibly melting through.
And they insist they need to raise prices all the time so this ****ing moron can build a bloody ROCKET!?
I hope he gets hit by a bloody bus then, selfish money grabbing tosser
Do you really think they launch rockets above a major metroplitan area? Do you really think there are no safety measures? And do you really think the profit paypal made went right into space exploration?
Please, grow up! This is a major achievement that could mean "cheaper" sattelites.
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