5 thoughts on “SpaceX Update”

1. Here’s a question. From what I understand about Falcon 1, the first stage is recovered, but the second stage is expendable. Is this an accurate understanding? And, if so, is Falcon 1 sufficiently reusable to be considered a reusable space access vehicle, or does it fall into the “throwing away too much expensive hardware each flight” category?

2. Okay, two questions.

3. Even nicer to see a successful Falcon 9 launch this summer.

4. My own guesstimates say the launch will be in autumn at best. The Falcon 9 maiden flight was supposed to be in Q4 2008 and SpaceX is typically one year late doing everything.

   I’m hoping the Falcon 1 launch for that Malaysian satellite actually succeeds first. So far their launch record is pretty spotty, but I guess that was to be expected from a new entry in the field.

5. Given that the Falcon 1 is set (at present) for next month, if all goes well I think it will give the Falcon 9 a shot of confidence. Fingers and toes crossed for them; we desperately need a private spaceflight company to shed the government monopoly on space access.

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