By: Cosmic Log : Space-race reality check

Cosmic Log : Space-race reality check — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:42:30 +0000

[…] Posted: Monday, March 05, 2007 6:42 PM by Alan Boyle Two of the darlings of the commercial space race, California-based SpaceX and Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace, are apparently planning to conduct their second launch attempts a little later than previously advertised. SpaceX’s millionaire founder, Elon Musk, reported today that the launch window for his company’s second Falcon 1 rocket has been moved back from this week. You might recall that the first rocket failed last March, due to a corroded nut that led to a fire during launch. Here’s the update from the SpaceX Web site: “The launch window is now March 19th to 22nd (California time). During extended ground testing in late February, one of our second stage thrust vector control boards indicated a problem. Although our analysis showed substantial margin for flight, we decided nonetheless to increase the robustness of certain of the components and run a delta qualification. “The upgraded boards will be installed this week. If all goes well, Falcon 1 will do a static fire next week and then launch in the week of the 19th.” Bigelow Aerospace hasn’t yet nailed down a date for the follow-up to last July’s successful launch of its Genesis 1 inflatable orbital module – but in the past, the company has said it’s aiming for a launch from Russia’s Dombarovsky missile base sometime around April 1. Now Russia’s Federal Space Agency says Genesis 2 is on the schedule for an April 26 launch – on the same day that physicist Stephen Hawking is due to take a weightless airplane flight. The latest report on Genesis 2 comes via Clark Lindsey’s RLV and Space Transport News, which is a great source of information about the commercial space race. Be sure to check with that Weblog as well as Jeff Foust’s Personal Spaceflight blog for updates during these next few days, when I’m out of the office and (mostly) out of the blog race. P.S.: Don’t miss Foust’s update on Space Adventures’ suborbital aspirations. […]

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By: Cosmic Log : Space-race reality check