Elon Musk called the Antares rocket a 'joke' 2 years before it exploded

An Orbital Sciences rocket operating under a NASA contract exploded shortly after launch on Tuesday evening, much to everyone's surprise — except, perhaps, Elon Musk.

Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, trashed Orbital Sciences for using outdated Russian engines during a 2012 Wired interview:

"One of our competitors, Orbital Sciences, has a contract to resupply the International Space Station, and their rocket honestly sounds like the punch line to a joke. It uses Russian rocket engines that were made in the ’60s. I don’t mean their design is from the ’60s—I mean they start with engines that were literally made in the ’60s and, like, packed away in Siberia somewhere."

Two years later, Musk tweeted his condolences about the explosion, in which no one was injured:

The Antares rocket was carrying a Cygnus spacecraft that was supposed to deliver supplies to the International Space Station on a routine mission. The exact cause of the explosion is still unknown. However, the Orbital Sciences team wasn't tracking any issues prior to launch. The private space company says it will conduct a thorough investigation starting immediately

“The proposed man-rated vehicle to put Americans back into space on American hardware won’t be able to get off the ground without extended versions of the solid rocket boosters used on the STS. It would literally be possible to just forget about the new liquid-fueled system — which is a pork barrel and nothing more — and loft future astronauts on the (reusable) SRBs.”

I hate to burst your bubble (well maybe “hate” is a strong word), but SpaceX has basically already done it. Check out this link that logi_cal869 posted from space.com of an article published in August. Here is an excerpt:

“The most recent reusability test, which occurred last month during a launch for commercial-satellite firm Orbcomm, was also a success, SpaceX representatives said. Indeed, SpaceX released a video captured by a camera on the Falcon 9 first stage that shows its measured descent and controlled entry into the Atlantic Ocean.”

Here is the video.

In other words, they made a soft landing into the ocean. This shows that they have everything in place, and for their December launch they will be doing a soft landing on a platform in the Atlantic. It seems silly to say that they should “just forget about the new liquid-fueled system” since they showed back in July that it does virtually everything they want it to do from start to finish.

This is what I was talking about:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3199395/posts?page=15#15

Here’s more about the SpaceX Falcon9:

SpaceX Rocket Prototype Explodes In Texas; ‘Rockets Are Tricky’, Musk Says
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3196099/posts

and more about SpaceX’ participation in a Boeing project:

NASA awards space taxi contract to Boeing and SpaceX
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3204692/posts

and more about pork-barrels:

Three Congressmen Are Using Red Tape to Bind SpaceX to Earth
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3191941/posts

a couple more sidebars:

Airframe Structure for First Commercial Dream Chaser Spacecraft Unveiled
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3191191/posts

‘Pumpkin’ Moonship for Private Manned Lunar Landings Passes Key Review
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3019874/posts

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