SpaceX launches — and loses — first rocket – Space News – MSNBC.com
After four years of work, three launch delays and $100 million in dot-com cash, SpaceX’s Falcon 1 rocket rose from its Pacific launch pad on Friday, but was lost moments later.
Space enthusiasts around the world had looked forward to what SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies, billed as the world’s first all-new orbital launch vehicle in more than a decade.
The two-stage, partially reusable rocket ascended from a launch complex on Omelek Island in Kwajalein Atoll, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as thousands watched via a Webcast. But moments after its fiery rise from the pad, the Webcast signal was lost. Then, SpaceX reported that the rocket and its satellite were destroyed during the ascent
“We did lose the vehicle,” Gwynne Shotwell, the company’s vice president for business development, told reporters from SpaceX’s headquarters in El Segundo, Calif. Shotwell could not provide details about the cause of the launch failure, but a brief shot from a camera mounted on the rocket itself showed a whirl of flame around the rocket’s bottom just before contact was lost.
“Clearly this is a setback,” Shotwell said, “but we’re in this for the long haul.”
What a setback, atop of all the other setbacks leading up to this failure. I was really looking forward to their success, but it aint over for them yet. Besides, someone has to get Scotty’s ashes into space. 😉
See article for some insight.