UPDATE, 11:51 pm

According to Sam Coniglio, reporting from the SpaceX factory, Falcon 1 launched at 11:38 pm EST. The first stage of the launch went according to plan, but it looks as if there was a second stage separation failure. The rocket was lost.


UPDATE, 9:38 pm

Sam Coniglio, on the scene at Falcon 1’s launch, says the SpaceX vehicle has been delayed until 8 pm PST. According to Coniglio, Falcon 1 is taking longer to pressurize: technicians were loading the vehicle with helium, and at 97% capacity, there was a slow-down.

Despite this hiccup, the launch will go forward.


Original article

It’s a good week for space, according to Sam Coniglio, reporting from Hawthorne, California, the location of the rocket factory that built Falcon 1. Falcon 1 is scheduled to launch at 4:30 PM PST, at the Kwajalein Atoll, 2100 miles southwest of Hawaii. So far, there are no complications.

If successful, Falcon 1 will be one of several innovative companies to herald a whole new enterprise with cheaper and more reliable spaceflight: the first stage is fully reusable and will be recovered from the ocean after the launch. The second stage will be reusable at a future date.

The first and second launches of Falcon 1 were not 100% successful—the main engine failed during the first, and the second had engine chamber pressure problems. But SpaceX’s engineers designed Falcon 1 with engine reliability in mind. SpaceX’s media representatives say, “As a winner of the NASA COTS competition, SpaceX is in a position to help fill the gap when the Space Shuttle retires in 2010.”

Coniglio says that the launch is limited to “friends and family” of SpaceX, with minimal media. Approximately 500 people are at the SpaceX rocket factory. They’re surrounded by rockets in various stages of construction and development, much of it blocked off.

“Everything we’re seeing is via satellite. We’re getting videocams of the launch pad itself,” Coniglio says. “There’s a crew there at Kwajaleink, and they’re preparing for the flight, loading the fuel tanks.”

And everyone has their eyes on the satellite link.

SpaceFuture wishes SpaceX the best of luck on this very exciting occasion.
It’s a good week for space, according to Sam Coniglio, reporting from Hawthorne, California, the location of the rocket factory that built Falcon 1. Falcon 1 is scheduled to launch at 4:30 PM PST, at the Kwajalein Atoll, 2100 miles southwest of Hawaii. So far, there are no complications.

If successful, Falcon 1 will be one of several innovative companies to herald a whole new enterprise with cheaper and more reliable spaceflight: the first stage is fully reusable and will be recovered from the ocean after the launch. The second stage will be reusable at a future date.

The first and second launches of Falcon 1 were not 100% successful—the main engine failed during the first, and the second had engine chamber pressure problems. But SpaceX’s engineers designed Falcon 1 with engine reliability in mind. SpaceX’s media representatives say, “As a winner of the NASA COTS competition, SpaceX is in a position to help fill the gap when the Space Shuttle retires in 2010.”

Coniglio says that the launch is limited to “friends and family” of SpaceX, with minimal media. Approximately 500 people are at the SpaceX rocket factory. They’re surrounded by rockets in various stages of construction and development, much of it blocked off.

“Everything we’re seeing is via satellite. We’re getting videocams of the launch pad itself,” Coniglio says. “There’s a crew there at Kwajaleink, and they’re preparing for the flight, loading the fuel tanks.”

And everyone has their eyes on the satellite link.

SpaceFuture wishes SpaceX the best of luck on this very exciting occasion.