Space X is Go

[simking]

Hopefully with this success we will be able to rely on American resupply rather than relying on the Russians. 

[Moonwalker]

Yeah. Dragon is going to dock to the ISS tomorrow. They already performed a successful flyby today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nRkiJ2hups

The launch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlpk-gOkY6M&feature=related

If this mission is going to succeed, SpaceX might become the first company to send humans into space. Manrating Dragon should not be too far away then. They even might be in space manned sooner than NASA...

[Moonwalker]

Today, for the first time since the last Shuttle mission, a US spacecraft docked to the ISS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzZvyrrpZ88&feature=related

This is a new era in space flight And I think that now even the last SpaceX sceptics are going to be more and more silent

[simking]

Yep and I seem to remember people saying No private company could do this as well as NASA could. Something tells me NASA is now more  development and research now their days of maned space flight are over I am afraid.

[Moonwalker]

Yep and I seem to remember people saying No private company could do this as well as NASA could. Something tells me NASA is now more  development and research now their days of maned space flight are over I am afraid.

Yes. Obviously companies can do it as well. And it's not just a cargo ship which docked to the ISS. It's a spacecraft which returns from space and which is reusable. That's unique.

I also think that the days of maned space flight are over for NASA. But there is no need to be afraid. Because this is only the case for launching own rockets. NASA will have overall control of manned missions in future, design the missions, prepare them and train the astronauts, while the transportation part to and from space will be done by companies like SpaceX for less costs.

The new Space Launch System by NASA likely will never lift off the ground just as Ares I and Ares V did not. The program only exists to safe as much jobs as possible and to keep the Kennedy Space Center operational.

[Moonwalker]

Dragon undocked from ISS. And All three departure burns are complete.



It is only the second time that Dragon is in space and they accomplished a mission for the books.

Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean is scheduled for 05:44 p.m. Central European Time (11:44 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

NASA will broadcast the deorbit and splashdown. Broadcast will start at 04:55 p.m. Central European Time (10:15 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

NASA TV High Quality Stream:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ustream.html

[Forrest White]

SpaceX's most notable accomplishments include a liquid-propellant launch vehicle (Falcon 1) that delivered a payload into low-earth orbit, Dragon spacecraft that was successfully launched into orbit and returned to Earth, the first private spacecraft docked to the ISS, the first in history landing of the first stage on the ground, performed after the launch of the payload into low-Earth orbit.

[SpaceJac37]

SpaceX's most notable accomplishments include a liquid-propellant launch vehicle (Falcon 1) that delivered a payload into low-earth orbit, Dragon spacecraft that was successfully launched into orbit and returned to Earth, the first private spacecraft docked to the ISS, the first in history landing of the first stage on the ground, performed after the launch of the payload into low-Earth orbit.

I think SpaceX is one of the most advanced private space companies of our time. I suppose all further achievements in space engineering and even other spheres will belong to this company. Am I right? I follow the space and SpaceX news, and the more I monitor the company and its achievements, the more convinced I am that SpaceX is our future.