Space X Prepares to Go to Work for NASA
Department:
Privatizing Spaceflight
Teaser:
"Space Exploration Technologies' new Falcon 9 rocket is assembled in Cape Canaveral, FL for a debut in the first half of 2010."
Source:
SPACE.com Download time: Feb 18 2010 8:44 AM ET
NASA's space shuttles are flying their final missions this year, but one commercial spaceflight company in California has a new, privately-built rocket standing ready to replace the aging workhorse.
Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) new Falcon 9 rocket is already assembled in Cape Canaveral, Fla. for a debut in the first half of 2010. A following flight, sometime between May and November, would launch the cargo-carrying Dragon spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station.
Dragon could also eventually loft NASA astronauts into space by as early as 2014. Just don't call it a taxi service, said Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX. The company, founded by PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk, has already launched satellites to orbit on its smaller, unmanned Falcon 1 rockets.…
See SPACE.com for links to further info.
