Commerical spaceflight now fact

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by Red Devil, Dec 9, 2010.

  1. Red Devil Born Again Athiest Registered Senior Member

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    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 10, 2010
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  3. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    Yeeeaaaaahhh

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    New hope after our government unofficially gave up on manned space travel with its ever shrinking NASA budget and inability to pay for programs and goals since Apollo.
     
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  5. NMSquirrel OCD ADHD THC IMO UR12 Valued Senior Member

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    so the goal is to shuttle cargo into space then once that is proven they can start doing tourists?

    I though spaceX could land? why splashdown?

    this is the one that new mexico has a space port for right?
     
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  7. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Why doesn't Boieng start using their own Delta rocket to put people into space? All they need do is attach another type of moduel to the top of the Delta rocket and send it up, break away and return to Earth. Simple, already proven and ready to use.
     
  8. birch Valued Senior Member

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    i can just see it now. an amusement park in earth's orbit will be next as well as restaurants, shopping and shows, possibly even short vacation accomodations for the uber rich.
     
  9. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    Not really their next goal after cargo to ISS is to ferry NASA astronauts to ISS, but NASA is just a costumer (a costumer who they are already in contracts with and with billions of proven paying power) and so potentially anyone with the money can pay for a flight.

    Splash downs are easier, they plan to incrementally improve the capsule design for many more features such as land landings, which will require retro-rockets or airbags to fire a split second before touchdown, with a water landing those aren't needed.

    No that SpaceShipTwo

    United Launch Alliance is already working on man rating the Delta IV and Atlas V.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-rating_certification
     
  10. Red Devil Born Again Athiest Registered Senior Member

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    Hello? This is the ISS, can we have hamburgers to go!
     
  11. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    SpaceX has some very interesting dreams, possibly a rocket engine that will put the Old Saturn V Rocketdyne F-1 (the most powerful and largest single nozzle liquid rocket engine ever made) to shame! As well as a Heavy and Super Heavy Boosters of Saturn and Ares class. Check it out.

    http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=22395.0;attach=241178
    http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=22395.0;attach=241179

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  12. Blindman Valued Senior Member

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    Just to quibble. Space craft have been commercialized for a long time. Most communication satellites are privately owned.

    From Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_spaceflight
    "On March 26, 1980, the European Space Agency created Arianespace, the world's first commercial space transportation company. "

    It may be government sponsored but many private industries are. Commercial spaceflight has been a fact for 30 years now.

    BTW SpaceX launched from a NASA operated and owned facility, used NASA funded systems to track and control its flight, and SpaceX is a long way from making a profit.. Building a rocket does not make a space industry.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2010
  13. jmpet Valued Senior Member

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    We are children who just learned that C-A-T means that furry thing- space travel will be a novelty for the next couple of decades- heck- I even suggested to my dad to become an astronaut within his lifetime.

    I am looking for more science and less tourism.
     
  14. Red Devil Born Again Athiest Registered Senior Member

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    When I originally posted this, I got stung for 'trolling' whatever that is. So now that dragon has successfully completed its first mission to the ISS, am I still trolling??
     
  15. Exoscientist Mathematician Registered Senior Member

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    Congratulations to SpaceX. They performed an admirable feat in successfully launching their Dragon spacecraft, docking it with the ISS, and now recovering it from space:

    SpaceX Dragon Capsule Splashes Down in Pacific, Ending Historic Test Flight.
    by Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com Assistant Managing EditorDate: 31 May 2012 Time: 11:44 AM ET
    http://www.space.com/15939-spacex-dragon-capsule-landing-pacific.html

    It is quite important to note though that there is nothing particularly innovative about the SpaceX designs. Their engines are no more efficient than the engines on the original Atlas rocket of the 60's that first launched Alan Shepard. And their structures use the same weight saving techniques known since the 1970's. What's innovative about them is that they applied good business practices to cut the development costs of their launchers and spacecraft by 90%(!)
    That is what the lasting importance of SpaceX will be: that they showed any of the large aerospace companies in the world can do the same thing by following good business practice in privately developing their launchers and spacecraft.
    Thus because the development costs can be cut to such drastic terms, finally we can see a path towards routine space flight.


    Bob Clark
    Blog: http://exoscientist.blogspot.com
     
  16. Tero Registered Member

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  17. Red Devil Born Again Athiest Registered Senior Member

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    www.nasa.gov has some, but not many. Are they jealous haha!!! I am looking forward to the British spacecraft taking off, produced by Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Media) its will be ready in the next couple of years. It uses the feathering wing technology, I think, that Mike Melville (age 62) flew successfully into sub orbit (twice) winning a $10m first prize. I am no aeronautical engineer so cannot detail the tech.

    edit: just checked, theres a couple of images here: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/cargo/spacex_index.html
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2012

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