Picture
CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk would appear to have a sense of humour and a liking for the classic British comedy program ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’.

It has been revealed that there was in fact a ‘Top Secret’ payload onboard Wednesday’s Dragon Space capsule flight – the first time that a private company has launched into orbit and successfully recovered a space capsule.

Tucked on board the Dragon was an entire wheel of Le Brouere cheese, apparently in tribute to the Cheese Shop comedy skit by the Monty Python team, first seen in the early 1970’s. 

Never seen the sketch?

Click HERE to see what makes Elon Musk smile! 

Add Comment
 
 
Yesterday saw what is potentially  a huge step for the future of Space travel, and for the future of the US Space program, with the launch into orbit and safe return of the SpaceX Dragon capsule.

It is the first time that a private enterprise has managed to launch its own space craft into orbit, and is a vital step forward for NASA’s plans to rely on commercial development of new human Space flight vehicles.

SpaceX, a private company based in California, USA and run by Elon Musk (co-founder of PayPal ), has been developing the Falcon 9 launch rocket to carry the Dragon Space craft module into orbit. Blast-off took place yesterday 8th December 2010, from Cape Canaveral, with the Dragon entering into orbit 10 minutes after, and proceeding to circle the Earth twice before successfully re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down into the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico, around four hours later.

The Dragon capsule is initially intended to take cargo up to the International Space Station (ISS), but potentially if all goes well, it could also be used to transport new crew members to the ISS, up to seven at a time. After the retirement of the Space shuttles in 2011, transportation of astronauts will be totally reliant on the Russian Soyuz craft, thus the continued development of the SpaceX Dragon capsule, and others like it, is of vital importance to the continuation of the USA Space program.    
Add Comment
 
 
Picture
SpaceX dragon module docking with ISS (NASA)
Hawthorne, California, USA based private Space firm SpaceX has pledged to compete with the Russian Soyuz price tag of around $50 million for taking astronauts on the return trip to the International Space Station, after the shuttles are put into retirement later this year.

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told a US Senate committee on commerce, science and transportation that his company can "guarantee crew flights to the ISS for less than $50 million a seat".

With launch costs estimated to be around $400 million a time and maximum crew space of 7 fully loaded, the figures don't look like they add up at the moment. However, reliance on just one means of transporting crew to the ISS is not ideal, so this option I am sure will be welcomed.
Add Comment