Florida today reports that SpaceX is planning to launch the maiden flight of their Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral AFS in Florida as early as next week. The history-making launch is targeted for May 11 during a four hour launch window that opens at 1pm ET.
Falcon 9 has been at the launch site for the past several months undergoing integration, testing and checkout for what will also be the maiden launch of the Falcon from the Florida launch site. SpaceX has conducted several countdown rehearsals and recently fired the Falcon's 9 first stage engines on the launch pad for several seconds as a final test firing of the rocket's powerplant. The Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft are being designed to fly both cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station and other destinations. However, the first missions for Dragon will carry just cargo to the station. SpaceX founer Elon Musk says the spacecraft could make its first passenger-carrying trips to the space station within 3 years of being given the go-ahead from NASA. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion NASA contract to launch 15 of the Falcon 9 rockets. three will be test flights to prove the vehicle and Dragon space craft and then 12 operational missions to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. Contract options could increase the value of the deal to $3.1 billion. The company also has contracts to launch payloads for customers in Argentina, Canada, Europe, Israel and the U.S. SpaceX currently employs about 100 at Cape Canaveral but is ramping up the workforce rapidly. That number could grow to 200 by the end 2010 and may eventually reach 1000 personnel. These jobs will help in a small way to offset the potential loss of 10,000 plus jobs at KSC when NASA's space shuttle fleet is retired later this year. While new launch vehicles historically have only about a 50-50 shot of success on the first launch, for SpaceX the pressure is even greater for a successful launch since the company is being held up as a model for the future of human space exploration as well as being one of the companies NASA will have to rely on for its space transporation needs in the coming years. Without a doubt, the inaugural Falcon 9 mission will be taken as a bellweather of President Barack Obama's controversial plan to kill NASA's Constellation program to return astronauts to the Moon and instead invest in developing commercial "space taxis" for astronauts traveling to and from low Earth orbit while focusing its in-house talent on developing technologies for sending humans into deep space. However, before anyone starts counting chickens, SpaceX's Falcon 9 has to leave its nest and take flight. For the copmpany, as well as observers around the world, the date to watch is May 11. If the launch is successful, it will usher in a new era for Cape Canaveral and begin to pave the way for the future of commercial space transportation. If it is not, then, for many, all bets are off. While SpaceX would continue to perfect the rocket, many in Congress and the public will be left scratching their heads and wondering "what next?" But no matter what, you can bet that SpaceX is in the game for good. (The Spacearium / SpaceflightNews.net)
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