After threepreviouslaunches that ended prematurely, it looks as if SpaceX has finally launched their Falcon 1 rocket, setting a stage for NewSpace (aka the private space sector) and more importantly humanity.
Here is a link (windows media player) to the video for those of you who might have missed the launch. an image of the Falcon rocket at liftoff.
Update: Some are saying that the video is linking to the second launch. I will see if I can hunt down a video towards the fourth launch (as SpaceX has yet to post an official video of the launch an official video of the launch in their gallery section).
Update 2: Clark via Space Transport News has found a video of the launch via YouTube!
While many will acknowledge SpaceX’sthird launch failure as a setback for the private space sector (aka NewSpace), many may not realize that it was also a setback for the “deep space” community as one of the passengers on board was the Nanosail-D satellite (a solar sail prototype).
Despite the tragic loss, it looks as though another solar sail is available for launch–provided that they can secure a rocket to send them beyond the sky.
(Centauri Dreams) Greg’s recent phone call may not have been as dramatic as that scene in Contact, but he was able to tell me that although NanoSail-D did perish in the SpaceX Falcon explosion, there is a second sail. Marshall Space Flight Center built two. So now we’re in the energizing position of having a second chance at a sail deployment in space, and it could be done soon via the next Falcon launch, if SpaceX will cooperate in the enterprise.
Hopefully SpaceX will be kind enough to consider adding NanoSail’s “surviving twin” on the next rocket, as it will help scientists and engineers study how a solar sail reacts “in the wild” (not to mention give SpaceX something to boast about to the ever skeptical media).
Even though the solar sail have the potential of helping humanity visit other star systems, they could also shorten the amount of time it would take to reach lunar moons around the gas giants (not to mention the Kuiper Belt as well).
This would enable future colonies on Callisto, Ganymede, Titan and Neptune’s Triton to flourish, as solar sails could be used to speedily transport goods between these distant worlds.
SpaceX, an emerging space corporation that is slowly (but surely) winning over NASA’s affection has been awarded a contract by the space agency in order to transport cargo into orbit.
(NASA Press Release) NASA has awarded Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, a NASA Launch Services contract for the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles. [...]
The contract is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract where NASA may order launch services through June 30, 2010, for launches to occur through December 2012. Under the NASA Launch Services IDIQ contracts, the potential total contract value is between $20,000 and $1 billion, depending on the number of missions awarded.
The contract seeks a launch capability for payloads weighing 551 pounds or heavier into a circular orbit of 124 miles at an orbital inclination of 28.5 degrees. Payloads would be launched to support three NASA mission directorates: Science, Space Operations and Exploration Systems.
Despite the fact that this deals mainly with cargo, SpaceX is one of the few companies attempting at lowering the cost of launching humans and objects into space, thereby making it easier for corporations to enter into space.
If successful, Elon Musk (the CEO of SpaceX) may be able to help humanity not only reach the Moon, but Mars as well.
While the Dream Chaser continues to live on in its original form over at SpaceDev, the disappearance of its younger sibling Benson Space Company may not be an encouraging sign to investors looking into the space industry.
(Video: Dream Chaser (first design) promo demonstrating how the shuttle would ferry tourists from Earth to space. Redesign of craft can be seen in video format over here).
It looks as if one of the contestants in the Google Lunar X-Prize has found a unique way of securing funding in order to win the $30 million prize.
(LunaTrex X-Prize Blog) Team LunaTrex has a few companies in its membership that are profitable and that also have profit-generating products that relate to aerospace. One such company, AirBuoyant, is coming out with what could be considered a precursor to the “flying car”, called VertiPod. VertiPod will have 2 models, the VP1 ultralight one-person craft, and the VP-2, two-person craft. Both will be in production this summer, and will be featured at Oshkosh AirVenture in Wisconsin.
AirBuoyant has made the commitment to direct all profits from the sales of VertiPods to Team LunaTrex’s GLXP pursuit, until that effort is fully funded. This could represent millions of dollars per year, and additionally, provides a bridge to the aerospace industry for many with an experiential product like VertiPod. While the site is still under construction, you can keep tabs on VertiPod’s progress at http://VertiPod.com.
While flying cars may be a more speculative industry, it is good to see more established players in the market backing smaller space firms whose goals may not yield a profit financially (at least immediately).
After all, if companies like Microsoft backed projects such as solar sails and space elevators, they would probably find themselves with a more favorable spotlight in the public (especially if one of these space firms actually succeeded).
After realizing that going to the Moon was not their cup of tea, the Mountain View giant has decided to partner up with Virgin Galactic to launch the first Martian colony funded by corporate dollars instead of governmental taxes.
(Google Press Release) “Some people are calling Virgle an ‘interplanetary Noah’s Ark,’” said Virgin Group President and Founder Sir Richard Branson, who conceived the new venture. “I’m one of them. It’s a potentially remarkable business, but more than that, it’s a glorious adventure. For me, Virgle evokes the spirit of explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo, who set sail looking for the New World. I do hope we’ll be a bit more efficient about actually finding it, though.” [...]
“Virgle is the ultimate application of a principle we’ve always believed at Google: that you can do well by doing good,” said Google co-founder Larry Page, who plans to share leadership of the new Martian civilization with Branson and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
“We feel that ensuring the survival of the human race by helping it colonize a new planet is both a moral good in and of itself and also the most likely method of ensuring the survival of our best – okay, fine, only — base of web search volume and advertising inventory,” Page added. “So, you know, it’s, like, win-win.”
Despite the fact that experts have pointed out that terraforming Mars may be a bad idea, Sergey Brin has decided to lead the charge and is asking humans with Earthen citizenship to join him in his quest to conquer the crimson planet.
Sergey Brin is asking interested users to not only fill out the necessary forms online, but to also submit a video proving why they should be one of the lucky few to join him and several hundred pigs on the surface of another world.
Note: While Brin works out getting the permits for establishing a Martian colony, Larry Page is working on the Jupiter mission which involves settling the moons Ganymede and Callisto in the hopes of expanding Virgle’s empire across the solar system.
Microsoft hopes this initiative will help ease public tension after the software giant imprisoned Yahoo! employees on Mercury after they resisted its attempts at taking over the company.
Note: Microsoft and Google are still suing each other in court over the right to colonize the dwarf planet Ceres, which they believe holds the key towards settling Mars.
