14 DAY TRIAL // As NASA is getting ready to retire its space shuttle fleet, later this year, its ability to put astronauts in orbit will all but disappear. The agency will be able to continue using Russian-built Soyuz space capsules to get its crew members on the International Space Station (ISS), but will have no orbital capabilities of its own. Therefore, the private sector will have to step in. This is precisely the aim of the new Falcon 9 rocket, developed by SpaceX.
Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is a private company that has been working on the Falcon rocket line for several years. Under the contract it signed with NASA, the company needs to demonstrate that its boosters are capable of achieving their specifications on three separate occasions. Only then will the space agency entrust the company with supplies, scientific experiments and spare parts to deliver to the ISS. Just recently, officials at SpaceX announced that they finally completed the last test on their Falcon 9 vehicle, which regarded the spacecraft's engines.
Under the $1.6-billion contract the two have, the company needs to launch Dragon space capsules from aboard the two-stage rocket as fast as possible. Plans exist to convert the unmanned spacecraft into a manned capsule as well, although that is very unlikely to happen in the next year. What SpaceX has to do is relatively straightforward – take on some of the missions that NASA will become unable to perform as soon as the old shuttles are retired, this September. The Hawthorne company, along with others like it, will need to take care of the business, and supply the ISS with what it needs by 2015. At that time, the shuttle replacements, members of the Project Constellation, will roll out, Space reports.
Speaking about the recent and successful test fire and its importance, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on January 4 that, “This was the final stage firing required for launch, so the second stage will soon be packaged for shipment and should arrive at Cape Canaveral by the end of the month. Depending on how well our full vehicle integration goes, launch should occur one to three months later.” Musk added, “And of course, I'd like to thank the whole SpaceX team for their unwavering commitment to our company and our mission, especially over these last few months. Through their hard work and dedication, 2010 promises to be another great year.”