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Two of the debutantes on the final frontier - SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the Planetary Society's Lightsail 1 solar sail - will be making their debut a bit later than planned. Another space newbie, the first in a new series of GPS navigation satellites, was finally launched after a couple of technical delays.
Falcon 9: June at the earliest
The Falcon 9 is designed to carry cargo to the International Space Station for NASA at a fraction of the cost of a space shuttle flight. Someday, it may carry astronauts into orbit as well, if NASA's current vision for future spaceflight works out. As we discussed earlier this week, there are those (particularly on Capitol Hill) who worry that SpaceX and other commercial launch providers (even well-established companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin) won't be able to deliver safe, reliable space service. The success or failure of the first Falcon 9 demonstration could change the character of this multibillion-dollar debate.
Liftoff is set to take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, but the Air Force still has to sign off on SpaceX's flight termination system - basically, the "self-destruct button" that would have to be pushed if the launch goes awry. In the meantime, the Air Force had other space matters to deal with, such as the repeated delays in the launch of a next-generation GPS 2F-1 satellite atop a Delta 4 rocket.
"Looks like the delay of the Delta IV GPS satellite launch has taken up a lot of resources at the Cape and in turn pushed the first test launch of Falcon 9 from May 28/29 to no earlier than June 2/3," SpaceX spokeswoman Emily Shanklin said in an e-mail to reporters.
That Delta 4 was launched from the Cape on Thursday night, and on Friday, Shanklin sent a follow-up e-mail saying the Falcon 9 launch date was being delayed yet again: "Due to delays in the recent GPS satellite launch, Air Force range safety officials unfortunately did not have the resources to process our final documentation. SpaceX is now looking at no earlier than Friday, June 4, for its first test launch attempt."
Space News has still more about SpaceX's anticipated launch schedule, including ... you guessed it ... more delays.
Lightsail 1: Spring of 2011 at the earliest
The nonprofit Planetary Society says that development work on its solar-sail mission "is proceeding well." Lightsail 1 is destined to be launched into an orbit 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth, and then unfurl an 18.5-foot-wide array of reflective plastic panels. Solar radiation should propel the sail through space like a breeze on a kite.
David Imbaratto / Stellar Exploration for Planetary Society
An artist's conception shows the Planetary Society's
Lightsail 1 solar sail in space.
The same principle is employed on Japan's Ikaros solar-sail experiment, which was launched last week and by all reports is still on track.
The Planetary Society had hoped to launch Lightsail 1 by the end of this year, but today's update indicates that the timetable has been stretched out, with liftoff now set for no earlier than the second quarter of next year. That's no surprise: The society's executive director, Louis Friedman, signaled that there would likely be a delay when I chatted with him in March.
Check out the full update for details about how Lightsail 1's design is being tweaked.
More for space geeks
This has been a big week for space week, and not just because it's Geek Week on "The Rachel Maddow Show." We had a shuttle landing on Wednesday, the House hearing on space policy ... and to top it all off, the International Space Development Conference is under way in Chicago. I'm not able to attend this year, but you can keep posted on the goings-on by checking Space Transport News, or keeping track of Twitter updates with the #isdc or #isdc2010 hashtag.
There's already talk of new X Prize space competitions - for example, to deflect potentially hazardous asteroids, or get rid of space debris, or put beamed-power technologies to new tests. The X Prize Foundation's Will Pomerantz said such concepts are indeed in the works, although nothing is yet set in stone. "These are not just ideas written down on a paper for fun," he told me. So stay tuned for more geek gratification to come.
This report was last updated at 9:45 p.m. ET May 28. Join the Cosmic Log corps by signing up as my Facebook friend or hooking up on Twitter. And if you really want to be friendly, ask me about "The Case for Pluto."
Leave a Comment:
We are space enthusists, not geeks you jack a$$
Speak for yourself. I'm a geek and an enthusiast.
Thanks for the updates, Alan. A week's delay (at least) on Falcon 9 isn't too surprising -- hopefully they're using the extra time to triple-check everything they can think of and do everything else they can to ensure a successful first launch.
"Delayed gratification for space geeks."
And a giant phallic symbol. Intentional or unintentional salcaious title? Only Alan can do it right. ;)
So, you have a way to make a rocket look "vaginal"?
No...uh not really...I was just pointing out Alan's wit in the titles and topics he writes. He knows what the deal is. Don't worry about it :) It's all good, as they say.
Those who have particularly devious minds could read something into the picture of the Lightsail 1 craft. The Cosmic Chalice and the Blade. I'm just sayin' ...
Regarding the Lightsail 1, my devious mind was gonna go there, but I suppose it (devious mind) needed a break.
Now that you mention it, the Lightsail reminds one of a silvery set of lips...hmmm.
when do they attempt launch??? is otrag off the map? (a German co. that tried hawking $10k cruise like missile's made of tin roofing etc. to third world countries)....how many commercial only launches to date have been attempted worldwide?.....are there any foreign companies shooting for the stars?....how far off the east coast would I have to go to launch a vehicle into space and NOT require u.s. approval (I already know but would like to hear it noted)???...would they allow me (or anyone else) to launch from either of the poles?.....I am watching your column among others for news of commercial space ventures, and the technological write-ups about them, do you find current commercial space venture companies friendly competitive, fiercely competitive or pretty much unconcerned about all else but their venture, on that note are you finding venture capitalists focusing on one company or spreading out the gamble upon many ventures? Me, I am concentrating efforts on minimizing the chemical reaction thruster part of the equation..I sincerely believe that orbit can achieved without the hi-G kick to 18,500 mph we commonly use today, all my physics profs say it is impossible, yet we lose hydrogen and helium to space everyday and those particles were not blasted into orbit, merely pushed there by barometric pressure. Jupiter's lower stripe is obscured by Jovian clouds, it will be visible again soon, the whole episode will repeat in about 10 years.....last question, if I, or any commercial space venture landed a robot on the moon, could it be used to stake a property claim of reasonable area or would an actual living human presence be the defacto claim bearer??
I hope the f9 succeeds, I wonder if they keep any cute sketches of their version of a millennium falcon hanging on the walls....lastly, any info on the request made to help the latest Japanese craft receive and decode telemetry??
"how far off the east coast would I have to go to launch a vehicle into space and NOT require u.s. approval"
Infinite. If you're a US citizen, your rocket is subject to US law. Period.
"would they allow me (or anyone else) to launch from either of the poles?"
Why would you even consider it?
In addition to the above, AND the logistics of doing a rocket launch from the poles (North Pole: pack ice. South Pole, a LONG way overland from continental shore. Either one, damn cold for people or hardware [remember o-rings?], not much light in winter.), you also want very, very, very much to keep the Russians totally informed, lest they they mistake a North Pole satellite launch [and check a globe...any azimuth from there could drop a first stage on someone] for a submarine ballistic missile launch...
"yet we lose hydrogen and helium to space everyday and those particles were not blasted into orbit, merely pushed there by barometric pressure."
No. They reach the upper atmosphere that way, but anything after is driven by the Sun. The temperature of a gas (or anything else) is the average energy of molecular motion. Those light atoms/molecules are most easily 'heated' to escape velocity. The other extreme is a relatively heavy molecule like CO2. How easily the gases of an atmosphere escape, is not just a function of a planet's mass/gravity, but also its temperature, and the molecular weight of the gases in question. If Earth were significantly colder, it would not happen so easily. A relatively low-mass object like Titan, can keep an atmosphere, because it's COLD out there. Bring it in to 1 AU from the Sun, and it would lose tits atmosphere in astronomically short times.
And just as it's not hard to accelerate subatomic particles to near-light speed, it's not hard to heat H2 molecules or He atoms to orbital or escape velocity....compared to doing the same with a spaceship.
And you can't get into orbit with a balloon. Eventually it rises no higher.
Love articles about space Alan! I hope the Falcon 9 works as advertised as we do need alternatives now that the shuttle program is winding down. I can't wait to see how those newfangled lightsails work, an interesting tech that almost seems nonsensical.
Now seeing some new X-Prize competitions for asteroid deflection, beamed power generation and making a space vacuum cleaner ought to prove interesting, and I imagine sometimes rather hilarious.
I am very unsure that Falcon 9 is going to work as promised, let alone be the replacement for the Shuttle. For a former KSC worker's view on Obama and his Powerpoint space plan, check out http://www.rv-103.com/?p=457
thanks...nice try...a little math will show orbit is easier at the poles....so a ballon gets up so far...then perhaps to prevent bursting the h2/he is released for extra velocity, the sun is the perfect idea, add a little more momentum to what would start out as a ballon and end up as a planet pluto bound spaceship!!...so leaving U.S. controlled airspace for the south pole sounds slightly less riskier than the overprotected north pole....so sad...keeping a robot controlled ballon/space ship on it's flight path a little longer, like for about another week in earths atmosphere is probably doable though...flexible solar panels ARE on the list....I would rather not use chemical rockets in the nacells, we need some math here to show that burning hydrogen and oxygen at 150,000 feet will generate x amount of thrust and that solar powered xenon vasimirs(not really on the list, just throwing off the nay sayers) can generate x+1 of thrust....time of flight is a bit of a constraint, but dwadling about in the noctilent clouds will surely place a limit on the "breaking the surley bounds" thing (earths gravity well)....I would like to hear from some people who cruised at this altitude in the blackbirds et all, my concern is shear forces, ice welling, current density and required proton shielding (duh, boron polycorbonate...foolish naysayers...)...have at it frank et all, somehow it can be done, don't make me quote ben franklin cause it ain't the quote you really want to see here.....I think if I can answer enough of the absolute no you can'ts, somebody is gonna start looking forward...not that I like chavez or anything but hey, I got more time on airforce bases than most of the posters anyways, I think everyone would like to see this done, even evil knevil balked at the "nanny state", promising not to hurt any penquins is a start though...rocket fuel? we don't need no stinking rocket fuel!!.......N3TWU
Go SpaceX! Mother NASA needs the pressure of independent, competitive thinking! I would not look for costs to LEO to go down quickly or deeply however until we gather the gumption to field nuclear-thermal upper stages or aircraft launched SSTOs.