Space X - USA soon to be back in space

[JediKai]

The commercial replacement to the Shuttle and alternative to dependence on the Russians in order to get to the International Space Station (ISS) is Space X. It was to have launched on it's first trip to ISS this am at 0455 EDT. I stayed up to 0155 PDT in order to watch. Right after ignition the on board computer shut down an engine and the launch aborted. They may try again Tues or Thurs.

Keep an eye on www.nasa.gov
www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/cargo/spacex_abort.html

[JediKai]

Whoo-hoo. Successful launch early this morning. I stayed up past 2am PDT in order to watch on NASA TV via PC. Next stop, ISS on Friday morning. I tried to note down when that would happen but couldn't catch it on the audio. NASA.gov hasn't posted a schedule that I can find. Neither has the SpaceX website.

Washington Post: "On May 24, it’s scheduled to perform a fly-by at a distance of 1.5 miles to test sensors and flight systems before attempting to dock early May 25."

[Calaveylon Angavel]

Awesome! ;D
I was sad when the Shuttle Program was ended and am glad that Space X offers an alternative to the Space Shuttle.
Good luck and I hope that this mission is successful!

[Nova Darklighter]

Was really glad to hear they launched successfully, and hope all goes well with the delivery to the ISS.

[Leda EmBorr]

I considered driving down to Titusville to see the launch but since I wasn't sure which pad it was on and I was by myself, I decided to watch it on tv. Titusville is about an hour from where I'm staying here in FL.

It's another small but giant step!

[JediKai]

The vehicle successfully "berthed" today. It wasn't allowed to dock. Berthing was achieved via the robot arm of the ISS. Seems like every thing is going really well.

New vehicle on display in the Space Gallery at the Seattle Museum of Flight is another prototype for space flight
public.fotki.com/kait/kate/charon-at-mof/

[Leda EmBorr]

I like their comment "we've got the dragon by the tail"... Dragon being the name of the spacecraft.

[JediKai]

Yes, I liked that, too! It returns to earth tomorrow morning (about 5 am EDT). I attended a volunteer training at the Museum of Flight today on the new additions to the Space Gallery, which will included the Shuttle trainer. I learned that DragonX is named after Puff, the Magic Dragon. The Falcon rocket that lifted it to orbit is named for the Millennium Falcon! I also found out about a good blog by one of the mission specialist astronauts. He is Dr. Pettit and writes quiet eloquently in his "Letters to Earth" blog: blogs.airspacemag.com/pettit/

[Leda EmBorr]

Ha thats funny... Millennium Falcon!

I really like that poem he wrote about coming back to earth.

[JediKai]

Went to another lecture today. It was announced that the first part of the Shuttle trainer will arrive here on NASA's "supper guppy" huge aircraft on 30 June. Hope to be able to see it land!