EL SEGUNDO, California USA — Space-X, the company founded by PayPal multi-millionaire Elon Musk, is scheduled to launch a Falcon 1 configuration rocket on Monday, January 22, 2007 from the Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands launch facility.  A static fire of the rocket is scheduled for Friday, January 19.

Space Exploration Technologies, of El Sugundo, California, is developing a family of launch vehicles intended to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of access to space. Their design and manufacturing facilities are located near the Los Angeles airport, with propulsion development and structural test facilities located in Central Texas.

Space-X's Falcon 1 stands ready for flight at the Kwajalein launch facility.

Musk and the SpaceX team began by building two types of Falcon rockets. The name came from the "Millennium Falcon," the spacecraft in the Star Wars movies. The plan was to build a rocket by using existing technology and at the lowest possible cost. The Falcon 1, for example, uses a pintle engine, which dates from the 1960s. It has one fuel injector, while standard rockets used by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) generally use what is known as a "showerhead" design that features several fuel injectors. The company also needed a theodolite, which is used to align rockets, and instead of buying it new, they saved $25,000 by finding one on eBay.

There are other, equally expensive costs associated with rocketry. Since Musk's design would be reusable, the company needed to get back the rocket's first stage, which the rocket sheds as it leaves the Earth's atmosphere. The part usually falls into the ocean, according to safety plans, but retrieval at sea is expensive.

On January 16th, Musk reported that they had recently completed their first major pre-launch milestone, the Flight Readiness Review (FRR).  This confirmed that the vehicle, payload, ground support equipment, and personnel are ready for launch. Following the FRR, the Falcon 1 was rolled out to the pad and the Space-X crew completed a wet dress rehearsal, which is a full countdown that holds approximately one minute before T-0. 

The upgrades to the vehicle, Kwajalein launch facilities and their launch procedures have proven effective, and they have had a smooth launch campaign up to this point.  Even though a number of non-critical issues arose during the wet-dress and are being resolved, Musk saw nothing to date that should delay the launch schedule.

Going forward, they are working with the range to secure a couple of additional days as contingency.  Should the launch go beyond the 22nd, which is a possibility as they work with the upgraded vehicle, pad, and procedures, the next available launch window is mid February. A live webcast and a media call-in line for the launch are planned.

Website: http://www.spacex.com

01-20-2007 11:26 PM  #1
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2146	Space-X has scrubbed the Monday launch and moved it to some time in mid-February. The static test will proceed some time between now and Tuesday, but there will be no webcast. They will post a video of the static test to their website once it is available.