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SpaceX Falcon Makes It To Orbit (4th Time’s A Charm)
OhGizmo! —
By Evan Ackerman
SpaceX’s Falcon 1 rocket successfully entered low Earth orbit yesterday, making it the first privately funded liquid fuel rocket to reach orbit with a payload. The Falcon 1 is a two stage rocket powered by liquid oxygen and liquid kerosene capable of lifting about 450 kg into low orbit at a cost of about $7 million. Since it’s not designed or owned or operated by the government, it’s supposed to be much more efficient in getting stuff up into space. I’d like to say it’s more reliable, too, but that remains to be seen… Although after ...
SpaceX Falcon Video Shows How Simple a 10-Minute Ride to Orbit Is [Whooosh]
Gizmodo —
This is the on-rocket video of SpaceX's successful Falcon 1 launch. The Earth gets smaller, the sky gets darker, the engines burn cleanly, all systems remain nominal, and 10 minutes later the little rocket that finally could is in orbit...as simply as that. Check out the jubilant cheers from the SpaceX team at about 2:40 onwards when the main engine cut-off is reached, and the first stage is jettisoned. The only moment of drama is just before secondary engine cut-off, when the rocket's video feed glitches—and then comes back. Historic stuff, and hopefully all the future Falcon launches will be ...
SpaceX Falcon 1 lifts off successfully, first privately-funded spacecraft in orbit
DVICE Atom Feed —
For the privately-developed SpaceX rocket project, apparently the fourth time is the charm. After three dismal failures, the fourth launch attempt resulted in the two-stage Falcon 1 streaking into orbit last night after a flawless liftoff at 7:15pm EDT. Even though this orbital insertion occurs 45 years after the first time NASA did it, it's a first for a privately-funded commercial venture.
What's next? SpaceX plans to perfect the design of the vehicle, allowing for re-use of the first stage after a Pacific splashdown, and then launch 1,256-pound payloads atop the 68-foot rocket into low earth orbit. Next summer, the company ...
Falcon 1 the first private craft to make it to space
Gadgetell —
Section: News
After three unsuccessful flights, the fourth finally worked. SpaceX has managed to get their Falcon 1 space craft into space. Taking off from Kwajalein Atoll, an island in the South Pacific the Falcon 1 was able to fly into space, soaring above the International Space Station at a speed of 5200 meters per second. The flight of the Falcon 1 makes it the first ever private space craft to actually get into space.
Previous Falcon 1 flights have ended in failure. The third flight of the Falcon 1 ended in failure after just over three minutes when ...
NASA Begins Outsourcing ISS Supply Missions to Private Companies [Space]
Gizmodo —
Following (some) successful launches and prior rumors of deals, NASA has given SpaceX and Orbital massive contracts to send supplies to the ISS. The contracts, for $1.6bn and $1.9bn, require each company to deliver about 20 tons of vital cargo to the International Space Station. The private flights will serve as a temporary holdover during the period between NASA's Shuttle and Constellation programs, sending supplies from 2010 until 2016, at least. Details of this particular contract aside, this does set a precedent for the outsourcing of critical tasks—not just hardware—to ...
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