For more info on this chap see the sept issue of Discover
New entrant in the space race
17 September 2005
From New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
The contrast could hardly be greater. While NASA dithers over its next generation of launch vehicle, which is unlikely to get off the ground in the next five years, internet billionaire Elon Musk announced last week that he would build the world's most powerful rocket in two years.
Musk's company SpaceX, which he funded by selling the internet payment company Paypal to eBay, plans to launch its first rocket in the next month or so from an atoll in the Pacific. Falcon 1 is powered by a single motor, which has been undergoing tests for the past year.
Last week, SpaceX said it would skip plans to build a rocket powered by an array of five of the same motors and instead build one using nine motors. Falcon 9, the company says, will be capable of placing a heavier payload in low-Earth orbit than any other launcher, and for a quarter of the cost. The first launch is planned for 2007.
Meanwhile, NASA is stumbling over its plans for the future, says Keith Cowing of the website NASAWatch. The long-delayed "space architecture" document laying out future exploration of the moon and Mars was due to be unveiled earlier this year but is now expected later this week. SpaceX already has one firm customer lined up, while NASA is not expected to launch a new rocket for at least five years, and a moon landing a decade away at best.
From issue 2517 of New Scientist magazine, 17 September 2005, page 5
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Randolph Lee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM
For more info on this chap see the sept issue of Discover
New entrant in the space race
17 September 2005
From New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
The contrast could hardly be greater. While NASA dithers over its next generation of launch vehicle, which is unlikely to get off the ground in the next five years, internet billionaire Elon Musk announced last week that he would build the world's most powerful rocket in two years.
Musk's company SpaceX, which he funded by selling the internet payment company Paypal to eBay, plans to launch its first rocket in the next month or so from an atoll in the Pacific. Falcon 1 is powered by a single motor, which has been undergoing tests for the past year.
Last week, SpaceX said it would skip plans to build a rocket powered by an array of five of the same motors and instead build one using nine motors. Falcon 9, the company says, will be capable of placing a heavier payload in low-Earth orbit than any other launcher, and for a quarter of the cost. The first launch is planned for 2007.
Meanwhile, NASA is stumbling over its plans for the future, says Keith Cowing of the website NASAWatch. The long-delayed "space architecture" document laying out future exploration of the moon and Mars was due to be unveiled earlier this year but is now expected later this week. SpaceX already has one firm customer lined up, while NASA is not expected to launch a new rocket for at least five years, and a moon landing a decade away at best.
From issue 2517 of New Scientist magazine, 17 September 2005, page 5