SpaceX has announced that it plans to pursue a manned commercial space program

[nec208]

<p><font size="3">(SpaceX) is a space-transportation startup company founded by Elon Musk. Its stated goal is to improve the cost and reliability of access to space</font></p><p><font size="3">&nbsp;SpaceX is developing a family of partially reusable two-stage kerosene&ndash;liquid-oxygen launch vehicles.</font></p><p><font size="3">SpaceX was founded in June 2002</font></p><p><font size="3">&nbsp;The company has grown from approximately 160 employees in November 2005, to 400 employees as of November 2007. The launch crew in the Marshall Islands comprises 25 persons, with 6 in mission control. This small number of employees, when compared to other companies that produce similarly sized rockets, is part of the cost reduction that Musk is trying to achieve. He sees other rocket manufacturers as providing space-launch services at an unreasonably high price to support an unnecessary bureaucracy.</font></p><p><font size="3">&nbsp;--------------------------</font></p><p><font size="3">SpaceX has announced that it plans to pursue a manned commercial space program through the end of the decade.</font></p><p><font size="3">On Friday 18 August 2006, NASA announced that the company was one of two selected to provide crew and cargo resupply demonstration contracts to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. SpaceX will demonstrate crew and cargo resupply using the SpaceX Dragon, a conventional blunt-cone ballistic capsule, which is capable of carrying 7 persons or a mixture of personnel and cargo to and from low Earth orbit</font></p><p><font size="3">&nbsp;It will be launched atop a Falcon 9 vehicle. The nosecone of the vehicle has a hinged cap, which opens to reveal a standard ISS Common Berthing Mechanism, which allows the Dragon to dock to the U.S. segment of the ISS. NASA's plan calls for SpaceX demonstration flights between 2008 and 2010. SpaceX may receive up to $278 million if it meets all NASA milestones.</font></p><p><font size="3"><strong>Pictures of the SpaceX Dragon amd Falcon 9</strong></font></p><p><u><font color="#800080">http://www.symscape.com/files/images/spacexdragon.preview.jpg</font></u></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Swampcat]

This is old news. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>

 

[qso1]

Now what remains to be seen is if Space "X" can pull it off since they are basically using the most conventional means to get humans to space, expendable rocket and capsule. AFAIK, they have no plans to make the rockets reusable. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[Swampcat]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>AFAIK, they have no plans to make the rockets reusable. Posted by qso1</DIV><br /><br />It's my understanding that Mr. Musk instructed his designers to build with reusability&nbsp;of the first stage in&nbsp;mind.&nbsp;Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, but the idea is that it would be easier to include reusability in the initial design rather than try to&nbsp;add it&nbsp;later. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>

 

[qso1]

I agree, and do recall hearing something along those lines but its just that I didn't see anything mentioned at the website or any systems for recovery of boosters in the drawings which led me to think the system is not reusable. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[Swampcat]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I agree, and do recall hearing something along those lines but its just that I didn't see anything mentioned at the website or any systems for recovery of boosters in the drawings which led me to think the system is not reusable. <br />Posted by qso1</DIV><br /><br />Obviously, they've been having some problems with the reusability part of their plans. That's probably why they're not saying much about it. <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif" border="0" alt="Laughing" title="Laughing" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="3" color="#ff9900"><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>------------------------------------------------------------------- </em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong><em>"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government."</em></strong></font></p><p><font size="1" color="#993300"><strong>Thomas Jefferson</strong></font></p></font> </div>

 

[qso1]

Yep. They might be able to reuse the boosters somewhere along the line. The main requirement being a way to protect the engines from salt water on ocean splashdowns and parachute systems to minimize impacts. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>