SpaceX makes successful launch to the ISS!

BrainGlutton · May 23, 2012, 1:31am

The SpaceX company made history as its Falcon 9 rocket rose from its seaside launch pad and pierced the pre-dawn sky, aiming for a rendezvous in a few days with the space station. The unmanned rocket carried into orbit a capsule named Dragon that is packed with 1,000 pounds of space station provisions.

It is the first time a private company has launched a vessel to the space station. Before, that was something only major governments had done.

“Falcon flew perfectly!!” SpaceX’s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, said via Twitter. “Dragon in orbit … Feels like a giant weight just came off my back.”

Musk later told reporters: “I feel very lucky … For us, it’s like winning the Super Bowl.”

This time, the Falcon’s nine engines kept firing all the way through liftoff. On Saturday, flight computers aborted the launch with a half-second remaining in the countdown; a bad engine valve was replaced.

The White House quickly offered congratulations.

“Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting,” said John Holdren, President Barack Obama’s chief science adviser. “This expanded role for the private sector will free up more of NASA’s resources to do what NASA does best — tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space, including those of human space flight beyond low Earth orbit.”

SpaceX

Falcon 9 rocket

Dragon capsule (reusable)

Enkel · May 23, 2012, 1:41am

Wahoo… congrats to SpaceX!

BrainGlutton · May 23, 2012, 2:11am

Ad Astra!

Broomstick · May 23, 2012, 2:32am

Among other things, the two Secret Celebrities on board were James Doohan and Gordon Cooper. Alright, just some of their ashes, but on the way to the ISS they sent the mortal remains of those two and a few hundred others into the Great Black Yonder.

Which is just one more interesting/cool thing on top of everything else.

Sudden_Kestrel · May 23, 2012, 4:57am

The feed of the announcer from their first attempted launch was priceless (three, two, one, lift-off! uh oh), but I’m glad the second attempt was successful. I guess this is what space stuff is going to look like now, so this is something to celebrate.

Is this the company owned by the guy who teared up in a TV interview when he found out the Apollo astronauts disapproved of his plans? That interview broke my heart.

Staggerlee · May 23, 2012, 2:28pm

I heard the ashes were jettisoned with the booster rocket (perhaps not the right term) - might the ashes end up crashing to Earth or as more space-junk orbiting, only to be hoovered up/lasered at some later date?

Cliffy · May 23, 2012, 2:34pm

Second stage I think.

–Cliffy

Staggerlee · May 23, 2012, 2:38pm

Okay - so drifting into oblivion like the end of Dark Star then. Much better for all ashes concerned.

BrainGlutton · May 23, 2012, 10:00pm

Hmm . . . SpaceX has competitors. “There are now more companies looking to make money in orbit — at least eight — than major U.S. airlines still flying.”

RTFirefly · May 25, 2012, 2:38pm

And now comes the interesting part - they’re preparing for docking. Live feed here. If they can successfully dock the Dragon to the ISS, then the mission is a success, and a private company will have proved it can do this sort of thing.

Colophon · May 25, 2012, 2:59pm

Well, not quite. The distance from the Earth to the ISS is about the same as that from New York to Washington DC.

Balance · May 25, 2012, 3:01pm

The Dragon is in its lair: NASA - SpaceX Launch

"The International Space Station Expedition 31 crew successfully captured the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the station’s robotic arm at 9:56 AM EDT. "

misling · May 25, 2012, 3:04pm

succeeded it’s docked

wheresmymind · May 25, 2012, 3:06pm

It’s not a coincidence that this company is pronounced “space sex,” is it? I mean, they must have been kicking around dozens of potential names, many of which presumably didn’t have “sex” in the name. So surely they’ve got people working on this, right? How long do I have to save up how much money before I can go on a Space Sex adventure?

Leaffan · May 25, 2012, 3:17pm

I love stuff like this.

Gagundathar · May 25, 2012, 3:26pm

This is a true step forward.
The fact that SpaceX has competition is awesome as well.
Congratulations to all involved.

Robot_Arm · May 25, 2012, 4:17pm

I’m so proud.

Leaffan · May 25, 2012, 4:23pm

Me too.

BrainGlutton · May 25, 2012, 6:30pm

Of course, these guys are essentially government contractors – we won’t really have private-sector space travel until we have some involving no tax dollars at all. But this at least suggests the possibility.

BrainGlutton · May 31, 2012, 5:01pm

And now, in an achievement nearly as impressive, the SpaceX Dragon returns to Earth!

The ship parachuted into the Pacific Ocean at 11:42 a.m. New York time, about 560 miles off the coast of southern California. It returned with about 1,400 pounds of cargo.

“Splashdown successful!!!” Musk tweeted after today’s landing.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retired its shuttle fleet last year and wants the private sector to take over ferrying supplies and eventually astronauts to the station. SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, may begin regular resupply missions to the lab in September.

Astronauts released the so-called Dragon capsule from the station’s 60-foot-long robotic arm at 5:49 a.m., according to NASA.

“Dragon smoothly undocked, moved out, released and on its way home,” Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers tweeted from the space station. “Job done!” he wrote in another post.