UPDATE: They did it!!
For those of you awake right now, Spacex's Falcon 9 rocket with Dragon capsule will be launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida in less than an hour. If successful, this mission will see the first private spacecraft docking at the ISS. Check out the webcast and live text/video updates from SpaceFlightNow:
http://www.spacex.com/webcast/
http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/status.html
Dragon won't be docking with the ISS until Friday so don't wait up for it tonight. You'll see the Falcon 9 launch, taking just under 10 minutes to reach orbit at which point Dragon will separate from the second stage of the rocket. Depending on video Tx range, we may also get to see the solar arrays deploying (even the big guys have trouble with FPV!) After the video cuts out there should be a press conference discussing what happened and explaining any anomalies.
As a former SpaceX engineer, I'd be glad to answer any questions (on publicly available info) people have about the launch. Wish them luck!
Comments
Maybe we are looking at propulsion backwards. Isn't force just the macroscopic effect of momentum/energy exchange at the quantum level, according to the Standard Model. We really need to look at things from the point of view of exchanging momentum, rather than creating a force.
Probably anti-gravity will never really be possible, in terms of removing the effects of gravity. However, our current propulsion systems are never going to get us into outer space, due to inefficiency. As long as we exchange momentum, by "throwing away" mass, we'll always have to carry massive amounts of fuel weight around. We need to find some way of exchanging momentum without loosing mass, not anti-gravity.
Sure, but a rocket will always be a rocket. Maybe more efficient, but essentially the same tech. Nasa uses the ultimate in ablative nozzles. After and during firing, they are ablated by 100%. ;-)
Great achievement, for SpaceX!
However, I don't want to be cynical here, but nothing really new technologically has happened.
Dragon made it to the ISS!!
NASA TV Live Video of Dragon on Station
Pictures of the Berthing Process
Congratulations to the SpaceX team! The biggest milestone of this mission is successfully completed.
Now that the complete webcast has been uploaded
We can see John Insprucker was the other Air Force guy, in addition to John Muratore. So they seemed to go from the traditional college graduates of a startup to pretty experienced celebrities. Pretty ecstatic audience when the solar arrays deployed at 56:00. You know that was where a lot of low cost spaceships failed.
looks like they did it!
spaceX is truely one of the most awesome companies in the world, since the government has given up on anything outside the atmosphere, these guys (and others like them) seem to be the last hope for american spaceflight.
Jack, it's obvious why Jeff left SpaceX, to join 3DR of course.
Anyone remember the show in 1979, called "Salvage 1"? It was about a guy to made started a space salvage company with a rocket made out of junk yard parts. SpaceX is the real thing, except they're not using junk yard parts, I hope. ;-) Great achievement!
Haha no problem, I'm targeting the right people at least!
@Jeff
Sorry I clicked on your event38.com add on FB and cost you a couple of cents...sorry! ; )
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