Hasta La Gadget!

Ever wonder what it would be like to hover 131 feet above the ground through rocket power? You could come close with a jetpack, or you could watch a new SpaceX video that shows the Grasshopper reusable rocket’s own perspective. The new angle on a December test flight emphasizes just how quick and precise the hover routine has become: it takes little time for the Grasshopper to stop at its intended altitude, and the rocket doesn’t bob or sway to any significant degree. We’d most like to see the rocket reach its full two-mile potential, but we’ll gladly be distracted by the recent footage found after the break.

Continue reading Watch SpaceX’s Grasshopper rocket hover, from its own point of view (video)

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SpaceX stated during a conference at the Kennedy Space Center that it plans to send a crew of its own employees into orbit in 2015. This follows the company’s successfully completed unmanned mission to the ISS, earning the record of first commercial company to do so. The announcement was made by Garret Reisman, one of SpaceX’s project managers and former NASA astronaut.

SpaceX is taking this step as a way to demonstrate that its Dragon and Falcon 9 are safe and ready to carry NASA crew members into space. NASA is likewise enthusiastic about the mission, stating that it wants to know when these companies are ready to fly their own crew at their own risk. Unlike its historic unmanned mission to the ISS, this flight will not dock at the station. Likewise, it is being reported that the vessel will stay in space for a minimum of three days.

When asked if he would be part of the crew that SpaceX sends into orbit, Reisman offered this statement. “I did not come to SpaceX specifically … with the intent of going back to space. What’s important to me is that I can look myself in the mirror … [and say] that the risk is acceptable for me to fly.”

NASA has been pursuing commercial companies, having had to utilize Russia for sending astronauts into space after the space shuttle was retired. Commercial companies will save the U.S. a substantial amount of money, but aren’t quite at the point they need to be yet. By sending a crew into space, SpaceX will demonstrate its abilities while taking a big step towards ushering in a new future of space exploration.

[via Orlando Sentinel]

SpaceX wants to send its employees into orbit in 2015 is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back in September, SpaceX posted a short video showing a glimpse of its reusable rocket, the Grasshopper. The company has released a new video of the rocket, this time sending it to its latest record of 131 feet. While not quite the two miles that was hinted, it was still an impressive distance. Check out the video of it after the jump.

For now, rockets make a crash landing into the ocean, never to be used again. Elon Musk’s SpaceX wants to shirk that reality, however, and utilize rockets that both take off and land vertically, allowing them to be reused. The Grasshopper has been shown off a total of three times now by SpaceX, the latest of which you can see in the video below.

While the rocket didn’t hit its target of at least a few hundred feet, it did improve over the last time we saw it. The rocket hovers in the air for a bit before gliding back down into place; the first time around, it did little more than bounce briefly into the air. The test was conducted in McGregor, Texas, on December 17, and was followed up by an announcement tweet by Elon Musk on Twitter.

This comes after SpaceX managed to score a contract with the United States Air Force on December 6. With the contract, SpaceX will get the chance to run two missions, during which it will get to demonstrate its space vehicles as part of the EELV program. The missions are slated to take place in 2014 and 2015.

[via TPM]

SpaceX’s latest reusable rocket test sends Grasshopper 131 feet is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Space Exploration Technologies, more commonly known as simply SpaceX, has scored a contract with one of its most sought-after customers, the United States Air Force. The USAF has granted two missions to SpaceX, which will allow it to demonstrate its vehicle capabilities as part of the EELV program. SpaceX will perform two missions, both of which are covered by the same contract.

These are the first EELV missions the company has scored, and they will take place in 2014 and 2015. The first mission is the Deep Space Climate Obervatory, DSCOVR for short, and the second is the Space Test Program 2, also known as STP-2. Both will be launched via SpaceX’s Falcon vehicles, marking a monumental occasion for the company.

DSCOVR will take off via a Falcon 9 in late 2014, with the STP-2 following shortly after in the middle of 2015 via a Falcon Heavy. Presently, they’re both slated to launch from the Space Launch Complex 40, although that could change as the time nears. Both DSCOVR and STP-2 are OSP-3 (Orbital/Suborbital Program-3) missions, which is a USAF contract meant to given new entries into the EELV a chance to strut their stuff.

SpaceX’s Chief Executive and Chief Designer Elon Musk offered this statement. “SpaceX deeply appreciates and is honored by the vote of confidence shown by the Air Force in our Falcon launch vehicles. We look forward to providing high reliability access to space with lift capability to orbit that is substantially greater than any other launch vehicle in the world.”

[via SpaceX]

SpaceX scores contract with the U.S. Air Force is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is well-known for talking trash about the vehicular competition… just not when it involves rockets instead of four wheels. Still, that’s what we’re facing in the wake of a BBC interview. He tells the broadcaster that the Ariane 5 rocket stands “no chance” in the face of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy systems from his own SpaceX outfit, as it’s more expensive to use — and the contrast will only get worse when a cheaper, next-generation Falcon 9 arrives, he says. Musk echoes France’s position that Ariane should skip a mid-life upgrade to its vehicle and jump directly to a less expensive Ariane 6. The executive has a point when there’s more than 40 booked SpaceX flights so early into the Falcon program’s history, although there’s something left to prove when the first scheduled Dragon capsule launch ran into a non-critical engine failure. We’ll know that Musk can walk the walk if there’s still a long line of SpaceX customers by the time Ariane 6 hits the launchpad.

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CE-Oh no he didn’t!: SpaceX creator Elon Musk says Ariane 5 rocket has ‘no chance’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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