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SpaceX Didn’t Manage to Land the Falcon 9 Smoothly

March 11, 2016 By Ryan Harris Leave a Comment

“Just follow the Instructions” is written on SpaceX’s landing pad in the ocean.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – After attempting to launch the reusable rocket a couple of times, SpaceX didn’t manage to land the Falcon 9 smoothly. The NASA-associated company has sixteen more launches scheduled for 2016.

Elon Musk’s space company managed to encounter any problem that could have been encountered, including an unidentified vehicle that trespassed the launching area at the second attempt of getting the reusable rocket in space.

But last week, the company succeeded in placing the communication satellite into orbit, and now there are a few Asian countries with better television, internet and mobile connection thanks to the relentless efforts of the team.

The five previous attempts at launching the rocket were affected by the liquid oxygen fuel that the spacecraft uses. The liquid was not cooling at the right temperature, so they had to replace it with something denser. Also, the bad weather played a significant role in the delay.

Even though the satellite is now up and running, the team didn’t complete the mission successfully because SpaceX didn’t manage to land the Falcon 9 smoothly. There is still a lot of work in the landing department.

The problem was that the rocket used a lot of fuel while carrying the satellite because it had to be placed in a high orbit, somewhere above the equator. Furthermore, the booster had to turn around and correct its course in order to be able to land on the drone ship.

The Falcon 9 eventually missed the boat, and the team believes that it fell somewhere in the ocean. They are still waiting for the telemetry from the Florida landing area in order to establish the exact current state of the rocket.

Even though the company managed to land one of its Falcon 9 rockets on land in December, there are still a lot of missions that require the recovery to be done at sea. This was one of them because the booster was obligated to travel to high orbit, consequentially coming down at a higher speed than usual.

SpaceX has 16 more launches scheduled for this year. The next mission on Musk’s list is a routine cargo delivery for the Space Station. The run is scheduled to take place in late March or, the beginning of April.

And even though SpaceX didn’t manage to land the Falcon 9 smoothly, the company will then try again to land the reusable rocket safely on the ocean platform.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

SpaceX Prepares for a Launch This Afternoon

February 28, 2016 By Ryan Harris Leave a Comment

SpaceX will launch its Falcon 9 reusable spacecraft this afternoon in Florida.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – After delaying the flight two times, SpaceX prepares for a launch this afternoon. Elon Musk’s space company will try to launch its Falcon 9 spacecraft so that it can deliver an SES-9 communication satellite.

SpaceX is actively trying to launch rockets into space and bring them back down safely. They are also attempting to create a landing system that keeps the rocket intact.

In the present moment, the engineers and technicians of the company are trying to land the rocket on a floating sea platform. When they will perfect the landing they will move to ground tests.

Earlier this year SpaceX tested a landing system based on specially-designed parachutes. The test was successful, but additional experiments and evaluations must be made before the Falcon 9 is equipped with the landing system.

Last week, Musk’s company tried to launch its reusable rocket in order to place an SES-9 communication satellite into orbit.

The satellite is meant to provide internet, mobile, and television services to roughly 20 Southeast Asian countries.

The first launch was delayed due to bad wheatear. The unfriendly meteorological conditions were not compatible with the launch, so they postponed it for Thursday.

But Thursday was a bad day for science, as the genius cartoon character would put it. Even though the wheatear was great, ideal actually for a launching, the decision to ground the rocket until further notice was taken minutes before the countdown.

According to the company, the launching team discovered that there were several problems with the loading of the liquid fuel needed to power up the rocket.

But three is a lucky number, the weather is great, the scientists are all rested up so maybe today will be the day that satellite is put into position.

SpaceX and SES have announced via Twitter that the launch will take place today, Sunday, the 28^th of February at 6:46 PM. The rocket will leave from the Air Force Cape Canaveral Station in Florida.

But since any respectable company has a backup plan for the second backup plan, there is another launch scheduled for Monday. Just in case, something goes wrong with the one scheduled for later today.

As SpaceX prepares for a launch this afternoon, billions of people in Southeast Asia are waiting for a proper internet, mobile and television service.

SpaceX is co-owned by engineer, economist, and millionaire Elon Musk. The charismatic inventor has been named the real-life Tony Stark that the planet needed.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

Black Mold Delayed the ISS Resupply Mission

February 12, 2016 By Ryan Harris Leave a Comment

NASA says the crew aboard the ISS has sufficient supplies and will not be affected by the delay.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – NASA made an official statement in which it confirmed that black mold delayed the ISS resupply mission. For the moment, the agency is still working on identifying the cause of the black mold, but the evidence they have so far points to the high levels of humidity in Florida.

The black mold was found on the packing bags that were supposed to be sent to the Space Station. The journey of the supplies was not a regular one, but it also marked the fifth resupply mission that used the Orbital ATK.

Dan Hout, NASA’s official spokesperson declared that the delay will not be longer than two weeks. According to Hout, the agency wants to make sure that all of the black mold is removed and the entire equipment disinfected before sending the craft to the Space Station.

NASA wants to make sure that all of the traces of mold are removed from the equipment because the fungi can endanger the health of the astronauts that are currently on the Space Station. The agency also wants to make sure that the problem will not appear again.

The Space Agency should keep the spores as they mark the first time in the history of NASA when they had to deal with this kind of infestation. It is also the first time in the history of the agency when they were forced to unload cargo in order for a transporter to be disinfected. But at least, the circumstances are extraordinary.

Even though the delay is of only two weeks, the NASA official has no idea at this point how much this incident affected the SpaceX scheduled cargo resupply run.

SpaceX will take care of the resupply missions in the next years. Elon Musk’s company declared that the collaboration with NASA is running smoothly and they haven’t encountered any problem. It’s safe to assume that the mold infestation cannot be considered a major problem in the collaboration of the two agencies.

NASA has declared that black mold delayed the ISS resupply mission for approximately two weeks. The agency added the fact that the astronauts that are currently serving on the Space Station will not be affected by this delay because they still have sufficient supplies.

Who knows, if they’ve seen Matt Damon’s The Martian maybe they’ll think about growing potatoes on the ISS to make their supplies last longer. The agency should really consider adding some seeds in their next shipment.

Image source: www.pixabay.com

Musk Made a Surprise Visit to the Hyperloop Competition

February 1, 2016 By John Birks Leave a Comment

: Elon Musk’s presence was much awaited by the 22 teams that participated in the Hyperloop competition.

(Monitor Daily, United States) – This weekend a competition that gathered 22 different teams with as many Hyperloop design propositions decided which Hyperloop model would become the first step we take towards building the fifth mode of transportation. But the highlight of the event was not the fact that the MIT team won, but rather the one that none other than Elon Musk made a surprise visit to the Hyperloop competition.

Because Elon Musk is the person who first thought about the Hyperloop, it was only logical that he would make an appearance at the SpaceX sponsored Hyperloop Competition that took place in Texas this weekend.

When the competition’s judges announced the winner and things were starting to wrap up, the participants even initiated a new hashtag trend #WhereisElon in order let the hosts know just how much the inventor, engineer, innovator, businessman, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX co-founder was awaited by fans.

And as the lead engineer on the SpaceX team, Steve Davis, was delivering the final speech he actually acknowledged the #WhereisElon hashtag and used the newly formed trend to greet Musk on stage. The roaring applauses from the standing audience were a definite sign of how much he is appreciated in the young scientific community.
The Tesla Motors and SpaceX co-founder spent approximately 30 minutes on the competition’s stage. He delivered a speech for roughly ten and then started a Q and A session with the participants.

Among the questions he answered was one related to how he got the idea of the Hyperloop in the first place. It seems that the basic concept came to his mind when he was one hour late to a conference because he was stuck in traffic. While patiently waiting in his car he was thinking about a new faster transportation method and he brought the idea up when he finally made it to the conference.

Musk also spoke about the competition, underlining the fact that all of the designs that were submitted by the 22 teams were important, since the final Hyperloop model will, most probably, be a hybrid. The billionaire said that the ultimate judges will be economics and fundamental physics.

The talks deviated from the Hyperloop afterwards and Musk was asked questions about SpaceX, Tesla Motors and his participation in the Mars mission. He gladly answered each one and, according to the participants, inspired the young minds present to make a real change in the world.

Image source: www.dailytimesgazette.com

Elon Musk Says SpaceX Will Take Humans to Mars by 2025

January 30, 2016 By Matthew Slotkin Leave a Comment

Elon Musk will take us to Mars by 2025

(Mirror Daily, United States) – The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is probably one of the most appreciated in the high-tech industry and Elon Musk says SpaceX will take humans to Mars by 2025.

Having two science-tech giants that produce “wonder” every other day like others produce bread, makes you pretty much “godlike”. So, when Elon Musk says his company SpaceX will develop a spacecraft that can fly humans to Mars by 2025, the odds are this is actually going to happen.

However, so far he only introduced the idea so as to make us more curious and keep us waiting for more. He will further detail his plan in the near future, unveiling also the architecture of the spacecraft.

But the CEO didn’t stop here with the news. He revealed one of his great dreams, that of building a city on Mars. So landing there would only be the start of a bigger, better adventure. Of course, the point is to do everything that’s in our power to ensure the survival of the human race in case our planet doesn’t make it. And given how things are going with global warming and everything, the Red Planet doesn’t sound so bad after all.

According to discoveries made so far, it still looks like Mars is the best solution we have, if we were to make a home someplace else. And when Elon Musk announces his company could make it happen in just about a decade, obviously people are already going crazy about it.

Of course, going to Mars opens up new horizons and with technology evolving at this pace and with people like Musk leading the evolution, we will be able to further explore the Universe and maybe find other planets were life could be sustained.

Everything will begin with a rocket in the next decade and go on with giant starships that could transport many people to the Red Planet. Of course, there are many skeptics out there who don’t believe this is possible, but giving people hope about it and making them excited for the journey ahead seems like a good plan to gather support for the huge project Elon Musk is preparing.

Let’s hope SpaceX won’t keep us waiting much and they will reveal the plans for the manned spacecraft this year as promised.

Image source: www.bing.com

SpaceX Tested The Parachutes For The Crew Dragon

January 29, 2016 By Melissa Gansler Leave a Comment

(Mirror Daily, United States) – After several tests for the capsule, SpaceX tested the parachutes for the Crew Dragon that is meant to return astronauts safely from the International Space Station (ISS). The company has been performing several trials lately in preparing for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) have conducted the test high above the ground in Coolidge, Arizona. The four red and white parachutes were carried by a C-130 cargo aircraft with a mass simulator that mimicked the weight of the capsule and potential crew members. The purpose was to naturally assure the safe return of astronauts back onto Earth.

Initially, the landing is planned on slowly bringing the crew members with a gentle landing onto the oceans, for which they will use parachutes. However, SpaceX has shown that it’s not the true extent of their ambitions. In fact, the company has tested out the Crew Dragon’s eight SuperDraco engines for a smooth landing on ground.

The spacecraft past testing with flying colors, but will not be used until much later on due to the additional danger of attempting a landing directly on land. Arriving in the ocean would be a much safer course.

SpaceX has been conducting many tests recently, including those with the Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket that is meant to set astronauts into space. Its engineering teams are put to work to assure a quick and efficient progress that will be mirrored by Boeing. The latter is doing several tests on developing the CST-100 Starliner, set to be launched on the ULA’s Atlas V.

Both companies are making efforts to assure future blast offs to take place from American soil. It’s in the hopes of NASA that this will result in severe cost cutting solutions and will break their dependency from the Russian space agency. Until now, all astronauts were boarded on the Soyuz capsule, and just one seat could cost up to $81 million. By developing new spacecrafts, it could better aid the agency in saving funds and redirecting them toward future missions.

It’s estimated that a seat on the Crew Dragon or the CST-100 Starliner will cost around $58 million, which is a vast difference from the Soyuz. The two spacecrafts are also estimated to cost around $5 billion in total through the development process, with $1.2 billion to be invested in 2016.

Both SpaceX and Boeing will be guaranteed at least two missions each, with a maximum of six, even though the companies are working with NASA under separate contracts.

Image source: wired.co.uk

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