SpaceX Rocket Launch in Sight
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a private company based in Hawthorne-CA, successfully fired the second stage engines of its Falcon 9 rocket for 329 seconds (the time intended for a full duration orbit) on Saturday. The company says that its spacecraft should be ready to take to the sky in the next couple months.

stage, conducted on January 2, 2010. Credit: SpaceX
Falcon 9 is part of a family of rockets that SpaceX is developing that could fill the gap in U.S. transportation to space. The space shuttles are expected to retire in 2010 and NASA’s next launch vehicle, Ares, is not scheduled to be ready for flight until 2015.
SpaceX initially started developing its rockets for space tourism and for launching scientific and commercial satellites into orbit, and has successfully flown a previous rocket, Falcon 1. Last year, the company won a $1.6 billion contract through NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to provide the space agency with a vehicle capable of reaching the International Space Station. Commercial launch vehicles could also help reduce spaceflight costs for the U.S. government. Aboard Falcon 9 will be the company’s Dragon capsule, a spacecraft designed to carry both cargo and crew.
The maiden flight of Falcon 9 has been hit with delays–last fall the company was promising to launch the rocket by the end of 2009 after they conducted successful first stage engine firings. But the company says it will be shipping the second stage to Cape Canaveral, FL (the launch site) by the end of the month and, “depending on how well full vehicle integration goes, launch should occur one to three months later.”
Keep Reading
Most Popular
A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook?
Robot vacuum companies say your images are safe, but a sprawling global supply chain for data from our devices creates risk.
A startup says it’s begun releasing particles into the atmosphere, in an effort to tweak the climate
Make Sunsets is already attempting to earn revenue for geoengineering, a move likely to provoke widespread criticism.
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023
These exclusive satellite images show that Saudi Arabia’s sci-fi megacity is well underway
Weirdly, any recent work on The Line doesn’t show up on Google Maps. But we got the images anyway.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.