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Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is implementing a series of design and process changes intended not only to prevent the corrosion problem that brought down the first Falcon 1 flight, but also to better automate the vehicle health monitoring and launch process, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk. The low-cost orbital rocket was carrying the FalconSat-2 spacecraft for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Air Force during its first mission, which ended 34 seconds after liftoff when the engine shut off prematurely. The launch attempt took place March 24 from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean....

The first launch—and failure—of the SpaceX Falcon 1 booster has generated a couple of interesting articles in The Space Review relative to early flight failures of vehicles (see “Our rockets always blow up”, March 27, 2006; and “First flight success isn’t the whole story”, April 3, 2006). While both of the articles had their good points, some analysts might profit from a more rigorous examination of early flight failures. To begin with, while it is interesting to go back and look at the first flights of vehicles at the dawn of the Space Age, applying that data to more modern...

Space Exploration Technologies (Spacex) chief executive Elon Musk has announced a Falcon 9 launcher contract and denied the recent Falcon 1 rocket malfunction was a complete failure. Canadian robotics and satellite company MDA has placed a contract for a 2008 launch on the yet-to-be-developed, larger-diameter Falcon 9. The first launch of a Falcon 1 on 24 March failed 29s into the flight because of a fuel leak fire-triggered shutdown (Flight International, 4-10 April). “It would be ludicrous to refer to it as a complete failure,” says Musk.

Space Exploration Technologies Inc. will begin an investigation soon in partnership with the U.S. government to determine what caused its Falcon 1 rocket to fail less than one minute into its first launch attempt Friday. In a statement released Saturday, the company said the investigation team will disclose the full official determination of the failure.

Early insights from investigators examining Friday's failed launch of the first SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket suggest a fuel leak triggered a fire that ultimately brought down the booster, the company's founder said today. "The good news is that all vehicle systems, including the main engine, thrust vector control, structures, avionics, software, guidance algorithm, etc. were picture perfect. Falcon's trajectory was within 0.2 degrees of nominal during powered flight," Elon Musk said in a statement posted this morning on his brother's blog.

Well this is going to be a live thread of the Falcon 1 launch.. Will it go or not? That is a question. We shall see.

After three failed attempts, the private launch firm Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is once more set to debut its Falcon 1 rocket in a Friday space shot. SpaceX officials delayed the launch 24 hours to allow additional time to system checks and reviews. “We are feeling more and more confident with each countdown attempt,” said Elon Musk, founder of the El Segundo, California-based SpaceX, via e-mail from the firm’s launch site. “It is also worth noting that four countdown attempts is actually a small number for a brand new rocket from a brand new launch site.

SpaceX anticipates a maiden launch attempt of their Falcon 1 rocket on this Thursday, March 23rd, at 1pm California time (21:00 GMT), with a final decision pending a detailed data analysis of today's testing. A flawless flight readiness test with a three second engine firing was completed on the pad late Tuesday.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - Scotty will be blasted into space - not beamed up - and Gordo is returning for his third flight. The planned launch sometime in March of a rocket carrying the ashes of actor James Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery Scott on "Star Trek," and Mercury program astronaut Gordon Cooper will give a fitting send-off to two men who helped popularize human space exploration. The craft also will hold the ashes of 185 others, including a telephone technician, a nurse and a college student. Their families paid $995 to $5,300 for the flight, being conducted...

The new launch time for Space X's maiden launch of its Falcon 1 rocket is February 8, at 4:30 p.m. California time, with Feb. 9 as a backup day. We will actually be ready to launch earlier, but are planning to spend extra time reviewing and double-checking all vehicle systems. Following the problem on Dec. 19, we flew a whole new first stage to Hawaii via C-5 just in time to catch the barge from there to Kwaj a few days before New Year's Eve. The new stage should arrive at Kwaj in about a week, whereupon we will switch...

At 2:25 pm EST SpaceX announced that a structural issue in the first stage fuel tank of the Falcon 1 launch vehicle had arisen and that the launch is off until at least next month. The customers for this first mission are DARPA and the U.S. Air Force. The payload is FalconSat-2, part of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s satellite program that will measure space plasma phenomena, which can adversely affect space-based communications, including GPS and other civil and military communications. The target orbit for this satellite is 400 km X 500 km at an inclination of 39 degrees.

This is the live thread of the first launch of the Falcon 1. The launch attempt is will take place at 2 p.m. est (1 p.m. cst) on 12/19/05

PRESS RELEASEDate Released: Thursday, December 8, 2005 Source: SpaceX The new launch date is approximately December 20, depending on when the Missile Defense Agency testing is complete. As soon as we have a firm time, it will be posted here. On November 26, 2005, the fist SpaceX launch attempt was scrubbed. As SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated during a pre-launch press conference, the likelihood of an all new rocket launching from an all new launch pad on its first attempt is low. The reason for the delay was an auxiliary liquid oxygen (LOX) fill tank had a manual vent valve...

VANDENBERG, Calif., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) today announced the successful completion of a full launch wet dress rehearsal, including execution of all launch operations and a hold down firing of the Falcon I at its newly activated site, Space Launch Complex 3 West at Vandenberg Air Force Base. This comprehensive test exercised Falcon vehicle systems and range safety interfaces to ensure optimal operations during the upcoming launch campaign. The test included erecting the integrated flight vehicle, a complete countdown sequence and firing of the Merlin main engine. "Today we completed the largest milestone remaining before...