Falcon 9 rocket opens new doors into space
PACE Exploration Technologies’ unmanned Dragon capsule arrived in Los Angeles following a test flight for Nasa that could open the door to a long-desired and more elusive customer – the US military.
The cargo capsule blasted off on May 22 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida and three days later became the first privately owned spaceship to reach the International Space Station, a $100 billion (R855bn) project of 15 nations that flies 390km above Earth.
Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean last Thursday and was returned by barge to Los Angeles before dawn on Tuesday.
The successful test flight not only means Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) can start working on a $1.6bn contract with Nasa to fly cargo to the space station. It also clears a key hurdle to compete for Department of Defense business as well, which would mean launching military satellites.
Dragon’s launch was the third successive flight of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which debuted in June 2010.
Flying three times successfully was among the criteria the company needed to meet to become eligible to compete for military business under a new programme designed to draw competition into a field monopolised by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
There are several paths toward certification, and the requirements can vary, Air Force spokeswoman Tracy Bunko said.
“If the new entrant has a launch vehicle with a more robust, demonstrated successful flight history, then we may require less technical evaluation for certification. But it also depends on the risk assessment of the mission.”
In the short-term, ULA will remain the sole provider of heavy and medium-lift commercial launch services to the US military with its Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets.
But the wall is cracking. The Air Force is expected to award a non-ULA launch-services contract this year for the Deep Space Climate Observatory, a Nasa Earth-monitoring satellite that is being repurposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) into a solar observatory. The Air Force issued a request for bids on May 11. A second satellite, the Air Force’s Space Test Payload-2, has also been set aside for a new launch services provider.
In addition to 12 cargo-delivery flights for Nasa, SpaceX has booked Falcon rocket flights for more than 28 other launches for a variety of companies, foreign governments and other customers.
Robert Bigelow, the president of privately owned Bigelow Aerospace, said the Falcon 9 would create a paradigm shift within the global launch industry. “The Falcon 9 has clearly arrived and proven itself as a reliable and affordable launch system for Nasa, the Air Force and commercial payloads.”
His company plans to build and operate commercial space stations and habitats in orbit, and has a marketing agreement with SpaceX for flight services.
Last week, SpaceX added Intelsat as the first customer for its planned Falcon Heavy rocket, which is expected to have twice the lift capacity of ULA’s Delta 4 Heavy, currently the biggest booster in the US fleet.
A Falcon Heavy mission costs between $83 million and $128m, according to SpaceX’s website, a fraction of a Delta 4 Heavy rocket launch.
For now, ULA isn’t worried. “In order for a fair competition, a new entrant would need to support the full set of mission and technical requirements. In addition, entrants also will be faced with stringent government oversight, accounting and reporting requirements – none of which is part of a commercial business plan,” said ULA spokeswoman Jessica Rye. – Reuters
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