Over the past few years, SpaceX has demonstrated some impressive firsts once relegated to science fiction. The company has slashed the cost of orbital missions, even if the exact details of those savings are somewhat disputed. It developed and successfully landed a rocket, then successfully relaunched several rockets earlier this year. Now, Elon Musk is hoping his firm can set another record and successfully launch a used Dragon capsule sitting on top of a used Falcon 9.
Musk announced the attempt on Instagram, writing(Opens in a new window): "On Tuesday, SpaceX will attempt to refly both an orbital rocket and spacecraft for the first time. These are pictures of the last mission each flew. Love the view of our Dragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station as it passes over the illumination boundary."
SpaceX has already launched used Falcon 9 and Dragon capsules in separate flights, but never simultaneously. If Musk can demonstrate that flying two used components can be as safe as flying one, he can bring the cost of future launches down by combining multiple recycled rockets (or pre-flown, if you prefer SpaceX's term). Musk has claimed SpaceX's re-usable rockets are $300M less expensive than conventional launches, and there's no doubt the United Launch Alliance has taken a beating on price these last few years. Despite several rounds of layoffs and cost cutting, SpaceX's launch costs are still estimated to be at least 40 percent less(Opens in a new window) than the United Launch Alliance's. The flip side to that, ULA would argue, is its own superior reliability record. ULA has never lost a rocket, while SpaceX has suffered several high-profile explosions.
Despite these issues, it's an exciting time for space exploration. Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are driving innovation in the industry, debuting new capabilities, and (hopefully) setting the stage for manned Mars exploration.
I don't subscribe to the simplistic idea NASA failed at these goals because it was a government agency. Peruse the list of reasons(Opens in a new window) why the Shuttle failed to meet its operational goals, cost-per-pound targets, and estimated flight costs, and you'll find it was an incredibly complex problem. The Shuttle's failure to meet its goals was thanks to at least a dozen variables that range from the limitations of 1970s technology to the Army's demand for a much heavier vehicle, to an extremely expensive thermal tile system in which each tile had to be custom manufactured for its exact location on the Shuttle. An awful lot of people had their fingers in that particular pie, often in ways NASA had no control over.
At the same time, however, there's no denying the strength of commercial space launches. Congress loves the idea of NASA building a huge rocket (jobs!), but hates the idea of funding missions. The so-called Senate Launch System bill specified what components NASA would use in certain cases, to divert work to specific Congressional districts or states. SpaceX and Blue Origin are leading the charge to cut space launch costs in part because they aren't saddled with the impossible task of building a rocket to nowhere with very little money.Tagged In
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