Every successful manned U.S. space flight since the shuttle entered service in 1981 has glided to a stop in the Mojave Desert or at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The word "splashdown" reentered space lexicon earlier this month when commercial space upstart SpaceX (Hawthorne, Calif.) successfully completed a high-altitude "drop test" of its Dragon spacecraft that could someday be used to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. View a video of the drop test here.
When those three main chutes deploy, crews will again know they have returned safely to Earth. (The main parachutes are huge. The engineer who designed the Apollo main chutes recalled that, once folded and stowed, the thin material was as dense as maple.)
The Dragon drop test was another success for SpaceX, the high-flying commercial space venture launched by PayPal founder Elon Musk. The aerospace company has plenty of critics, many who insist that SpaceX is little more than a collection rocket scientist wannabes experimenting with taxpayer funds while reporting to a boss known for over-promising and over-extending himself both technically and financially.
SpaceX has nevertheless achieved two major milestones in recent months, including the successful launch in June of its multistage Falcon 9 rocket and this month's drop test of the Dragon spacecraft. The next big hurdle will be launching a pressurized Dragon capsule into Earth orbit, then returning it in one piece.
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch rocket, Dragon space capsule in both cargo and crew configurations
If SpaceX can continue achieving milestones, they and other commercial space ventures should be given every opportunity to compete for a piece of NASA's space budget -- as long as the space agency ensures that new commercial systems are safe and thoroughly tested. If SpaceX flunks a test, then they move to the back of line like every other competitor.
SpaceX is based on the philosophy that simplicity, low-cost, and reliability can go hand in hand. By eliminating the traditional layers of management, internally, and sub-contractors, externally, we reduce our costs while speeding decision making and delivery. Likewise, by keeping the vast majority of manufacturing in house, we reduce our costs, keep tighter control of quality, and ensure a tight feedback loop between the design and manufacturing teams. And by focusing on simple, proven designs with a primary focus on reliability, we reduce the costs associated with complex systems operating at the margin.
Established in 2002 by Elon Musk , the founder of PayPal and the Zip2 Corporation, SpaceX has already developed two brand new launch vehicles, established an impressive launch manifest, and been awarded COTS funding by NASA to demonstrate delivery and return of cargo to the International Space Station. Supported by this order book and Mr. Musk's substantial resources, SpaceX is on an extremely sound financial footing as we move towards volume commercial launches.
Although drawing upon a rich history of prior launch vehicle and engine programs, SpaceX is privately developing the Dragon crew and cargo capsule and the Falcon family of rockets from the ground up, including main and upper stage engines, the cryogenic tank structure, avionics, guidance & control software and ground support equipment.
With the Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy launch vehicles, SpaceX is able to offer a full spectrum of light, medium and heavy lift launch capabilities to our customers. We are able to deliver spacecraft into any inclination and altitude, from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit to planetary missions. The Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy are the only US launch vehicles with true engine out reliability. They are also designed such that all stages are reusable, making them the world's first fully reusable launch vehicles. And our Dragon crew and cargo capsule, currently under development, will revolutionize access to space by providing efficient and reliable transport of crew and cargo to the ISS and other LEO destinations.
SpaceX's design and manufacturing facilities are located near the Los Angeles International airport, leveraging the deep and rich aerospace talent pool available in Southern California . Their extensive propulsion and structural test facilities are located in Central Texas. They currently have launch complexes available in Vandenberg and Kwajalein Island , and in April 2007 SpaceX was granted use of and began developing Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral.
Although SpaceX has been criticized for its dangerous fireball re-entry approach (Space Shuttle glides in during re-entry), it does not have anywhere the complexity of the Space Shuttle and its humongous two stage launch rockets. Every single Space Shuttle launch was a white knuckle affair since the Columbia catastrophe, with several space aeronautics experts saying that the Space Shuttle was obsolete, too costly to launch and operate, too expensive to maintain, and that there were too many mechanical and electrical parts and components that could malfunction. The Space Shuttle's protective tiles were constantly falling off or getting damaged on takeoff and a constant cause for concern, requiring astronauts to inspect them in space prior to re-entry. Each Space Shuttle had to be completely re-tiled before it could be launched again, adding to the maintenance costs.
According to NASA, each Space Shuttle launch cost U.S. taxpayers $450 million dollars. Let's look at SpaceX launch costs. SpaceX claims that the cost per Falcon 9 launch will vary between $49.9 million to $56 million. The cost per launch for the larger Falcon 9 Heavy rocket is $95 million. Payloads for the Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy for low earth orbit are 23,000 and 70,548 pounds respectively.
I am no space aeronautics expert, but when I put my bean-counter hat on, and compare the costs to build a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule, and use simple math to determine how much less each Falcon rocket costs to launch and the average cost per pound of payload, the SpaceX program is more efficient and economical by at least a factor of 5 to 1. No wonder that NASA Space Shuttle flights were cancelled by President Barack Obama. Putting politics aside, it certainly appears to me that the President got it right.
Without the NASA and federal red tape, SpaceX is making rapid progress and moving swiftly in its quest to launch its first astronauts into space. On September 28, 2008, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon 1 rocket (first rocket in the Falcon series) into earth orbit. On June 4, 2010, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon 9 rocket into earth orbit. On August 20, 2010, SpaceX successfully completed a high altitude drop test of the Dragon space capsule
-- meeting 100% of test objectives. This is the last in a series of tests to validate parachute deployment systems and recovery operations before the Dragon's first official launch.
Courtesy of an SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies
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