SpaceX To Replace Space Shuttle

What’s next after the Space Shuttle’s are grounded this year onwards???. Well the solution lies with the new private company namely Space Exploration Technologies (SET) which in future will be sending privately built rockets into space. As this is the last year for the aging space shuttles to carry out their missions to International Space Station (ISS) so there is a need for NASA to maintain the ISS and keep it running, so to do so they need some back up which can fill the gap till the time their Ares project is finalized.

The new spaceflight company SpaceX(SET) is situated in California which will hopefully replace the aging workhorse. With their new rocket Falcon 9, which is already in Cape Canaveral, Florida, will launch cargo as well as their newly developed spacecraft Dragon into space which will help in maintaining and repairing the ISS. The rocket is expected to launch in first half of 2010.

Dargon spacecraft on other hand can send NASA astronauts into space till the time NASA completes Ares project which includes the development of the spacecraft Orion. NASA is still not confident on it as the budget allocated to them can meet their requirements. NASA’s proposed 2011 budget request would scrap its new spacecraft plans and, instead, set aside about $6 billion over the next five years to support commercial spaceflight. That marks a major shift toward using private companies such as SpaceX to launch both cargo and humans into low Earth orbit.

 

The company endured repeated heartbreak with three failed launches of its smaller Falcon 1 rocket beginning in 2006, but finally tasted success during the fourth launch in September 2008. A fifth commercial launch in July 2009 marked two clean launches in a row, or what Shotwell deemed a "critical milestone" for the company.

The two-stage rocket stands 180 feet (55 meters) tall and is capable of hauling spacecraft or payloads weighing up to 23,000 pounds (10,450 kg) to low-Earth orbit. SpaceX has designs for a heavy-lift version, which would use two additional boosters to launch payloads of up to 70,548 pounds (32,000 kg) to low-Earth orbit.

 

Courtesy: Space.com

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