SpaceX Rocket Readied For Maiden Flight
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The Falcon 1 rocket, developed by SpaceX, fires its first stage engine during a test at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. CREDIT: SpaceX. |
Following an on-the-pad short burst firing of their Falcon 1 rocket engine last month, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) is on track for a maiden flight of the privately-built booster.
Assuming that there are no further delays in lofting a Titan 4 classified mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California - now slated for a July departure - SpaceX expects to receive a Falcon 1 launch window from that spaceport for an August timeframe.
The five second engine firing on May 27 of Falcon 1's Merlin main engine was "picture perfect," explained Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of the El Segundo, California-based company in a just-issued SpaceX update.
Falcon I development is essentially complete, Musk added, although SpaceX engineers will continue to do testing and retesting right up to the day of launch from Space Launch Complex 3 West at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The premier liftoff of Falcon I will carry the U.S. Defense Department's TacSat-1 satellite.
Customer discussions
For SpaceX, the rocket-for-hire business is looking good, Musk stated.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded the company a contract for Falcon I launch services. The value of that contract could be as much as $100 million, depending on how many launch options are exercised. This is independent of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)/Air Force FALCON program, he added, for which SpaceX will be conducting a launch later this year from the firm's launch complex in the Marshall Islands.
The FALCON program--not the Falcon 1 SpaceX booster--stands for Force Application and Launch from the Continental U.S. This military effort is aimed at showcasing technologies for affordable and responsive space lift.
"There are also a number of other customer discussions that are quite mature. It appears quite likely that we will receive one or two more launch contracts over the next few months," Musk said. SpaceX now has three launches to carry out in the next six months, he said, and considers the company goal of achieving an annual launch rate of five-plus in a few years as reachable.
"Not yet mentioned on our manifest or in any press release is our classified launch business, for obvious reasons," Musk said. The rocket executive did not elaborate, except to say that the dollar value exceeds all unclassified business combined, excluding the U.S. Air Force $100 million contract.
Long term goal
Also highlighted in the company update is a NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Space Act Agreement with SpaceX.
"JSC is the primary NASA center for human spaceflight and, since human transportation is the primary long term goal of SpaceX, we are likely to be doing a lot of work in partnership," Musk said.
The new Space Act Agreement provides a legal framework for interchange of personnel, information and resources, Musk explained.
"Now that development of Falcon I is almost over, we are turning our focus to Falcon 5, and one of the primary markets for that vehicle is resupply of the International Space Station. As such, we will need to work closely with JSC and other parts of NASA to understand the rendezvous and docking/berthing requirements," Musk said.
Secret projects
SpaceX is undergoing "a significant transformation" this year, Musk said, from a company that does research and development (R&D) to one that does R&D, manufacturing and launch operations.
Moreover, with the development of Falcon 5 "and a few secret projects we have on the go," Musk said, the rocket group is also increasing the scope and scale of the R&D. "We have tripled in size from a year ago and are now at about 130 employees," he reported.
That growth includes office and manufacturing space, a 300-acre test facility in Texas, as well as an office in Washington D.C. and launch complexes at Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg and the Marshall Islands.
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