Wednesday, June 9, 2010

SpaceX shows it has the right stuff

I am reading this article, SpaceX shows it has the right stuff, at www.chicagotribune.com.
According to this article, a Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral on 4 June 2010 at 1145 Pacific time.
The Falcon 9 reached orbit nine minutes later.
The first stage of the rocket, that carried the rocket to an altitude of over 50 miles, used engines that generated more than 1 million pounds of thrust.
The second stage carried the rocket into orbit.
Elon Musk's business Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation developed the Falcon 9 rocket.
NASA has invested over $200 million in seed money to help SpaxeX develop and build the Falcon 9 rocket.
NASA has awarded SpaceX $1.6 billion in contracts to transport cargo to the International Space Station as early as next year.
NASA's Space Shuttle program is scheduled for retirement later this year.
The average shuttle mission costs $1 billion.
Elon Musk says he can launch cargo to the ISS and only charge $50 million.
SpaceX's rockets are made in a facility that once contained a production line for Boeing's 747 jumbo jet.
SpaceX employs over 1,000 people.







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