14 DAY TRIAL // The private space company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) has officially requested a February 2, 2010, launch window for its new Falcon 9 delivery system. The announcement has been made by the US Air Force's 45th Space Wing, which has recently released a launch-range forecast for the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida. The launch facility is located near the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), from where shuttle launches take place. The Hawthorne, California-based company is one of the most promising private space technology companies in the world today, experts believe.
Under the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, SpaceX is one of the two companies accepted to provide crew and cargo resupply demonstrations between 2008 and 2010. The American space agency plans to rely on private companies for a while, until it manages to get its Constellation Program rolling, around 2016. The space company was originally scheduled to test its new rocket in 2007, but the development stage for Falcon 9 and its smaller sibling, Falcon 1, lasted more than anyone anticipated.
Last month, SpaceX announced that it planned to bring all the hardware necessary for the new rocket launch at the Cape Canaveral facility in November, and to launch the spacecraft one to three months later, Space reports. The thing about Falcon 9 is that it's designed to carry the Dragon space capsule to low-Earth orbit, and onwards to the International Space Station (ISS). The capsule is scheduled to begin hauling cargo to the orbital lab as soon as the concept is demonstrated. As the shuttle fleet is retired, at the end of 2010, the massive cargo space currently on the space planes will be taken away.
Solutions to replace it involve using the European Space Agency's (ESA) ATVs, the Japanese Space Agency 's (JAXA) HTV, and the Russian-built, Soviet-era Progress capsules. However, none of these individual spacecraft is able to haul the large pieces of equipment that fit in the standard shuttle cargo bay. This is one of the main reasons why the next shuttle missions will focus on delivering as much spare parts to the ISS as possible, which will all be attached to specially designed storage platforms on the outside of the lab.
SpaceX has great plans for its rockets and capsules. Within three years, the company's CEO, Elon Musk, says, the Dragon is scheduled to be retrofitted with equipment that will allow it to carry crews to orbit. This will make it possible for the United States to maintain their own crew capabilities, rather than rely on renting seats on Russian Soyuz capsules.