As SpaceX Rocket Explodes, Russia is Back on Top in Space Flight

Breitbart ^ | June 28, 2015 | Chriss W. Street

[E. Pluribus Unum]

An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket traveling at 2,900 mph, about 27 miles above the earth disintegrated 2 minutes and 19 seconds into its flight from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station.

It was a severe blow to NASA, still reeling from two previous failed Space Station resupply missions. The SpaceX failure is a reprieve for Russia’s Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft that will remain the prime Space Station servicer, despite recently renewed US sanctions against Russia.

The SpaceX launch, its seventh robotic cargo mission to the International Space Station, was running at what NASA called “on course, on track” before the mission failure.

[Iron Munro]

Who was the moron that thought it was a good idea to e so dependent on the Russians to reach space?

[atomic conspiracy]

For some reason, this article mentions the two other recent resupply failures but fails to mention that neither of them involved SpaceX. One was the Russian Progress mission that failed in April, the other an OSC mission that blew up at launch. Did the Russians’ April failure put us back on top, if only temporarily?
Between the butthurt legacy contractors (Boeing and Lockheed-Martin) who have seen their gravy train derailed by upstarts like SpaceX, and the Kremlin’s massive propaganda operation, it would appear there is a lot of money to be made attacking SpaceX.

[DoughtyOne]

If it’s not about space, it shouldn’t exist.

That was it’s mandate.

What’s going on today should have been taking place 15 years ago. Now we have no space program and we’re limping along pitifully.

Had this taken place in the early 2000s, technology would have advanced and the private sector would have picked up the slack.

Now we have no space program and the private sector can’t pick up the slack, which means we’re out of the game.

We’ve got that floating platform up there and no way to get to it.

That is so pathetic I can scarcely believe how mismanaged things had to be, to get us to this point.

[Nowhere Man]

Incompetents and idiots rule.

The nation that developed the A-Bomb, won WWII, and, using slide rules instead of computers, built rockets that put men on the moon and brought them home now has a government that cannot find its own butt with both hands, a searchlight and a GPS.

Bummer, ain't it? In 1970, we could put man on the Moon. In 2015, we cannot even get a cargo rocket into orbit. As the old Highlights magazine said from my childhood, "what is wrong with this picture?" I feel like I'm in the movie, "Idiocracy," where we have a Black President. Still, in that movie, I have to respect and give credit to President Mountain Dew Comacho, although the guy wasn't wound too tight, his heart was at least in the right place and he was truly empathetic and interested in helping the American people and wanted to really fix America. I have to give Comacho that and if I was there, my support.

Back to space and technology, yeah, we have better computers but that does not really mean a thing getting people into space, we did it with a lot less. I remember in 2003, they made a Wright Flyer designed with modern materials and computers celebrating the then 100 year anniversary of the Wright Brother's flight. It flopped and fell flat on it's face, yet the original Wright flyer was made with the engines then along with using basic wood, cloth and ropes, yet it flew.

Being the ham radio, space and computer geek I am, even in the the 1960's or 1970, had someone came along, I'm sure they could have kick started the home computer revolution early, the main difference is that before the invention of the microprocessor, you might have had a group of 3 or 4 chips doing the same function.

[DoughtyOne]

There you go...

Outreach.

It’s tough to think of a more dismal outcome.

[Nowhere Man]

One thing, the Russians are still using a 1960’s era space capsule on top of a 1950’s era rocket and it works. Heck the guidance system in the Soyuz is based on the old WWII era Norden Bombsight IIRC.

[PGR88]

Its amazing how the spirit of incompetence and political correctness flows from the top.

[hal ogen]

This proves that Clown Prince nobama is an absolute genius!!!!! ...doesn’t it?

[SunkenCiv]

CRS-7 go boom!

[fella]

Space X fail

[vetvetdoug]

Affirmative action strikes again.

[atomic conspiracy]

All six previous SpaceX resupply missions were successful. If this one failure makes them bungling incompetents, then the vaunted Russians are incompetent as well since it was one of theirs that failed on the April resupply mission.

[Regulator]

Actually you’re both incorrect.

Arianespace will continue it’s long run of successes with the A5 ECA, and augment that with less reliable Soyuz launches from French Guiana. Remains to be seen how reliable Vega will be.

The A5 now has a bit of breathing room for A6 development. Not a lot though.

[cicero2k]

We now estimate that when they are new, these boosters blowup 14% of the time.

What will the rate of failure be when they are used?

It will be interesting to see what the failure was.

[Always A Marine]

"Sh&t. I know sh&t's bad right now, with all that starving bullsh&t, and the dust storms, and we are running out of french fries and burrito coverings. But I got a solution."
- President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Idiocracy, 2005)

Life is imitating art.

[bgill]

NASA couldn’t put a man on the moon today if it wanted to.

[depressed in 06]

Idiocracy arrived a century early with Obummer.

[Iron Munro]

King Obama's Legacy

[cymbeline]

“these boosters blowup 14% of the time.”

Looked like the front end of the rocket blew up. That’s not the booster, is it?

[Jack Hydrazine]

How can Russia be back on top in the space flight game when they have had several failures recently?