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W4DPH > SAT 13.07.03 12:59l 52 Lines 1819 Bytes #999 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS-194.03
Read: GUEST
Subj: Falcon Rocket may Save Money
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Sent: 030713/1049Z @:W4DPH.#TPA.FL.USA.NOAM #:63917 [CLW] FBB $:ANS-194.03
From: W4DPH@W4DPH.#TPA.FL.USA.NOAM
To : SAT@AMSAT
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 194.03 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. July 13, 2003
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-194.03
As early as 2004, Cape Canaveral could see a new rocket take to its
skies.
Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk is planning to use the state- and
Navy-operated Pad 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to launch his
new Falcon rocket.
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California will get first dibs, though.
Musk's company, SpaceX, intends to send the Falcon on its first flight
from Vandenberg's Pad 3W as early as December, carrying a Department of
Defense communications satellite.
The two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket would carry light cargo to space.
Musk initially plans to charge $6 million for access to his rocket,
compared with about $20 million for the Pegasus.
Eighty percent of the Falcon could potentially be reused. The first
stage to fall away will be recovered from the ocean by a salvage
company. Later, he said he hopes to make the whole ship reusable. This
compares with about 90 percent of the shuttle that can be used again
after every flight.
He said a less expensive rocket should create a new market for people
who want to launch smaller satellites, but don't have $20 million to
spend.
This month, the Falcon will test fire its second-stage engine.
In September, SpaceX will put the Falcon through a launch simulation.
Musk said the rocket should be ready for flight by November.
Later, SpaceX could make the Falcon bigger to accommodate heavier
satellites. That could happen in as few as 31/2 years. If SpaceX
tried to go that route, Musk said, it would have the biggest
launcher on the planet. He said it could be possible to outfit
the rocket for humans.
[ANS thanks Florida Today for the above information.]
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