New Era in Space Exploration Begins

[Frodo]

New era in space exploration: Commercially built craft speeds toward the space station



By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, May 22, 5:39 PM

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Opening a new, entrepreneurial era in spaceflight, a ship built by a billionaire businessman sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies Tuesday after a spectacular middle-of-the-night blastoff.

The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon capsule marked the first time a commercial spacecraft has been sent to the orbiting outpost.
 
If the company SpaceX succesfully docks its Dragon capsule to the international space station, it will not only mark a new era in commercial space transportation but also provide a viable alternative for NASA to take cargo and potentially crew to the orbital outpost without using the Russian-made Soyuz capsule.

Tracing a fiery arc across the night sky, the rocket lifted off just before 4 a.m. and smoothly boosted the capsule into orbit. The capsule is expected to rendezvous with the space station within days, delivering a half-ton of provisions for its six crew members.

It is considered just a test flight — in fact, the capsule was packed with only nonessential items, in case something went disastrously wrong — but if all goes well with this mission and others like it, commercial spaceships could be carrying astronauts to and from the space station in three to five years.

[dead0man]

Good.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Awesome!  Glad to see it got off the ground this time.

[Donerail]

Good to see something launching from the Cape again.

[Redalgo]

This latest step is to be lauded but my sentiments on the matter are quite mixed. I distrust the American private sector to reliably do what is in accordance with the best interests of humanity. That is not to say I do not think it has a place in space, but it worries me greatly that the state has neglected its space program to such an extent that it no longer operates civilian spacecraft.

[Franzl]

How can it possibly be profitable?

[dead0man]

How can it possibly be profitable?

TV networks can't put up their own satellites, so they pay these people to put them up for them.  Govts can save money by paying these people to send random cargo into space...it's cheaper than doing it themselves and probably easier than going through Moscow (extreme corruption may be worse than communism...still too soon to call) to get it done.

[LastVoter]

How can it possibly be profitable?

TV networks can't put up their own satellites, so they pay these people to put them up for them.  Govts can save money by paying these people to send random cargo into space...it's cheaper than doing it themselves and probably easier than going through Moscow (extreme corruption may be worse than communism...still too soon to call) to get it done.

How was it communism in the space age? It was authoritarian state-capitalism after Stalin came to power.

[dead0man]

...

[King]

This has nothing to do with exploration.

[dead0man]

This has nothing to do with exploration.

Well, if it makes putting mass in space cheaper it will....eventually.

[Frodo]

This has nothing to do with exploration.

Gotta start somewhere. 

[King]

This has nothing to do with exploration.

Gotta start somewhere. 

Except we've already known how to launch rockets into space for about 60 years now.  It's ridiculous that we should have to basically start over while commercial enterprise figures out how to recreate the Apollo program.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Awesome!  Glad to see it got off the ground this time.

[dead0man]

This has nothing to do with exploration.

Gotta start somewhere.  

Except we've already known how to launch rockets into space for about 60 years now.  It's ridiculous that we should have to basically start over while commercial enterprise figures out how to recreate the Apollo program.

A.We've known how to make motorized carriages for 140 years (or whatever) and we're still getting better at that....hell, we've been making coverings for our feet for several thousand years and are still getting better at it.  Launching rockets (as if that's the best way into space) is a young technology with LOTS of room to grow.
B.and who is starting over?  Certainly not the SpaceX people.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

This latest step is to be lauded but my sentiments on the matter are quite mixed. I distrust the American private sector to reliably do what is in accordance with the best interests of humanity. That is not to say I do not think it has a place in space, but it worries me greatly that the state has neglected its space program to such an extent that it no longer operates civilian spacecraft.

I was a strong proponent of continuing government involvement in the space launches, but at least we're getting something off the gorund.

[Frodo]

And SpaceX has docked the Dragon to the International Space Station:

Dragon makes history with space station docking

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —
The private company SpaceX made history Friday with the docking of its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station, the most impressive feat yet in turning routine spaceflight over to the commercial sector.

It marked the first time a business enterprise delivered a supply ship to the space station.

"There's so much that could have gone wrong and it went right," said an elated Elon Musk, the young, driven billionaire behind SpaceX.

"This really is, I think, going to be recognized as a significantly historical step forward in space travel - and hopefully the first of many to come."

SpaceX still has to get its Dragon back next week with a load of science gear; the retro bell-shaped capsule is designed to splash down into the ocean, in the style of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. But Friday was the crucial step, Musk noted, and NASA agreed the next SpaceX mission could come as early as September.

[dead0man]

Probably the easiest of the three important steps (launch, contact and return), but still good news.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Imagine if we had put a decent fraction of that $1 trillion we blew on Iraq into space exploration.