Posted on 05/31/2012 6:19:10 PM PDT by MCSP2008
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — The SpaceX Dragon capsule parachuted into the Pacific on Thursday to conclude the first private delivery to the International Space Station and inaugurate NASA's new approach to exploration.
"Welcome home, baby," said SpaceX's elated chief, Elon Musk, who said the old-fashioned splashdown was "like seeing your kid come home."
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
Thank you. I think this is great. I hope they and other private ventures will have continued success in such ventures.
Salve
Yes my friend, I do also hope they will continue and be successful company.
I have question friend, if company like produced in less costs of what they have achieved, what was a purpose of Space Shuttle? Wasn’t like waste of money?
Just thinking
Merci
the space shuttle was meant to make us think it was reusable, making the public think it was saving money.
It was basically rebuilt between launches.
Someday the private sector will show them how its done!
I’m very curious what provision was made on the module to keep it from burning up on reentry. Did it have some sort of heat shield like the NASA capsules did.....which required the shield to face forward and take the heat? This thing was unmanned.
Seems like it would be a lot more difficult to accurately maneuver it into precise orientation relative to its trajectory via remote control from Earth than it was for the astronauts to do it from INSIDE their capsules. Or not. Just askin’.
It seems NASA is heavily involved on a contractual basis for launch facilities, tech support, etc....
A fleet of recovery ships....
Who's ships?
Salve
Thank you, that’s what I thought, it just made no sense.
I agree with you and will make some people very upset, so you telling me friend that US has wasted billions of dollars on something that private company can do in less and more productive way?
WOW
Someone missed the cut....
Good luck SpaceX, great work.
Merci
My 0.02, the Space Shuttle was a system that was crippled from the start, because they couldn’t afford to make the booster truly reusable (one design had it manned also, a lot like the Rutan system); they couldn’t make the orbiter reusable without major refurbishment either, due to technological and budgetary constraints. The turn-around time was not even close to what had been originally planned, and the per-flight cost was also much higher than originally planned. I don’t think it was considered to be “the answer” when it was completed; it wound up to be an interim design that kept flying because it was all that we had.
Salve
I was thinking of that too, unless they used same approach as of materials used on Space Shuttle as well on Russian and US Apollo materials of cockpit, reentering the orbit.
I think they use same technology of materials, after all you have to, and otherwise you will burn to death.
Merci
Salve
Thank you for this great inside information. Now it seems a lot of things could be done better, but looks like politicians wanted to have some say.
Merci
And it has probably only been in the last 5-10 years that NASA actually stopped actively sabotaging commercial space.
NASA should have been allowed to move forward with exploration after the moon, but instead they wound up running the shuttle. If you watch the science fiction from the time, everyone expected space exploration to grow. Instead it died on the vine.
Nixon should have killed Johnson's "Great Society" programs to fund space. He chose to do the opposite. Those programs are now bankrupting us, and we are missing the tax base a vibrant space industry would provide.
“Pas du Quoi” if I remember my French correctly, and that’s a long time ago .......................................................... FRegards
Salve
You didn’t finish sentence sir :}}}} What is not? what?
Il est donc parfois difficile de savoir ce qui se passe ..
On serious note, I am thinking...What is happening.
Merci
Yes NASA is involved on a contractual basis. I guess that’s where the launchpads, etc. are.
“Who’s ships?”
From what I have read...American Marine out of Los Angeles providing services under a contractual basis.
I could be wrong, but contractual=paid for.
I am sorry - My French is way too old. I shouldn't have tried.
My apologies .................... FRegards
Salve
:}}}}}}}} it is all right friend, bene :}}}}}}}}}}
Merci.
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