If the entire mission goes as planned, it will mark the first time a private company has launched and re-entered a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit -- and could signal a new stage in NASA's plan to privatize the spaceflight industry.
"It's a milestone on the path to realizing the first commercial human spaceflight capability," Bretton Alexander, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, told SPACE.com prior to the launch. "It's historic in that it's the beginning of a paradigm shift from a government human spaceflight architecture to one that opens up human spaceflight to the private sector."SpaceX plans to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket.. SpaceX plans to launch its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket.. As the moment nears, more events follow and then a minute before 9 p.m. IST the Falcon rocket lifts with a roar carrying the unmanned Dragon spacecraft. Space history has just been created. A few minutes later the spacecraft separated. and Mars BMM writes this blog, the Dragon spacecraft would have initiated its reentry and perhaps would have already splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after circling the earth twice at an altitude of 160 miles in low earth orbit.. SpaceX going for Wednesday morning launch -- The Flame Trench. Falcon 9 roars to orbit, through the clear Florida sky.
Photo Credit: NASAtech. CAPE CANAVERAL Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX launched the first Falcon 9/Dragon demonstration launch for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services. SpaceX launched its Dragon spacecraft into low-Earth orbit atop this new family of rocket. The Dragon capsule is expected to orbit the Earth at speeds greater than 17000 miles per hour, reenter the Earth’s atmosphere,. SpaceX: Bad at PR Great at Launching Rockets AmericaSpace X-51 Hypersonic Vehicle is Air Force’s Ticket to Space.
"Falcon 9 nailed it!" exclaimed Bill Nye, the Executive Director of the Planetary Society. "We congratulate Elon Musk and his team on a successful launch -- another step towards commercial applications that may one day help NASA carry supplies and astronauts to low-Earth orbit. Bold endeavors like this will advance the chances for success for everyone in the Earth-orbit business."
The planned launch had been delayed from Tuesday due to cracks in the Falcon 9's second-stage rocket engine nozzle. The initial launch was scheduled for 9:03, but was put on hold following false telemetry readings. After correcting the data, SpaceX was prepared for the successful launch. Today's launch is the beginning of the first test flight of the Dragon, intended to prove that the capsule can fly successfully to orbit and return to Earth safely - in this case splashing down in the Pacific having orbited the planet twice. In future SpaceX has ambitions to bring the capsule down on land, saying that its "Draco" guidance rockets will permit it to come down accurately within a small target area.
As well as an existing Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) deal to haul supplies and cargo to the ISS, SpaceX hopes to be selected for future "Commercial Crew" deals under which astronauts will be carried to and from the station. The company believes that both Falcon 9 and Dragon are capable, reliable and safe enough for manned flight.
The test is also the first mission by any company under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, which is designed to foster the development of private vehicles with the ability to carry cargo -- and eventually crew -- to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez tweeted, "NASA's Commercial Orbital Transp. Services Program's SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral today!"
SpaceX already has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to provide cargo flights to the space station using the company's Dragon capsule. The hope is that commercial providers such as SpaceX will help fill the gap created when NASA stops flying space shuttle missions next year. Until private spaceships are available, NASA will have to rely on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to transport astronauts to space.
SpaceX plans to fly at least 12 unmanned missions to ferry supplies to the International Space Station. And, while the Dragon capsule is not yet man-rated to carry human passengers into space, the company ultimately aims to win a contract to fly astronauts to the station as well.
Building a launch escape system -- a device that would enable astronauts to jettison from the rocket if an emergency were to occur during liftoff -- is one of the main challenges in man-rating Dragon to carry humans. The old-style NASA Constellation plans for this were axed due to cost: but SpaceX is known to have massive successor designs to the Falcon 9 series rockets - dubbed Falcon X - which could do the job.
For now, though, SpaceX needs to maintain its place among its COTS competitors for the Commercial Crew and Cargo work before taking on the mighty mainstream US rocket biz for the 2015 heavy lift deal.
