SpaceX success story: how a private American company becomes a competitor to Roscosmos. Spacex - latest news Musk taught himself rocket science

Today we will talk about how a private American company SpaceX, founded in 2002, quickly has become a serious player in the space market. In just a few years, it could become the main competitor to Roscosmos.

Base

The history of SpaceX is clear evidence that private business can be more effective than government agencies in literally any field of activity, even in such a knowledge-intensive and expensive field as space exploration.

SpaceX was founded in 2002 by a then largely unknown businessman. By that time, he was known as one of the founders of the electronic payment system PayPal.

The emergence of SpaceX is associated with Musk’s dream of human flights to Mars. He regretted that at the turn of the millennium, public interest in this idea cooled. And Musk decided to initiate the future colonization of the Red Planet with his own hands.

Having received 165 million US dollars after the sale of PayPal, he invested this money in the creation of a private space company, the final goal of which should be flights to Mars. But this is in the future, and first we had to start launching vehicles into Earth orbit.

SpaceX decided to use reusable spacecraft as the basis for its activities. This should significantly reduce the cost of delivering cargo into orbit.

It is interesting that Elon Musk initially planned to use American and Russian rockets for his own purposes, but over time he came to the conclusion that it was necessary to develop his own innovative spacecraft.

Falcon 1 rocket

The first launch of a SpaceX rocket occurred on March 24, 2006. The Falcon 1 spacecraft was 21.7 meters long and had a launch weight of 38,555 kilograms, of which 670 kg was payload. However, the launch ended in failure even at the stage of operation of the first stage.

The second and third launches of the Falcon 1 rocket were also unsuccessful for SpaceX. Moreover, in the latter case, the spacecraft already carried a payload: one American military satellite, two Malaysian commercial microsatellites, as well as the ashes of the dead for burial in Space.

Investors who were eyeing the ambitious company lost interest in it, and Elon Musk’s personal funds were rapidly running out.

And then Musk decided to go all-in. Literally two months after the third Falcon 1 crash, on September 28, 2008, the fourth rocket launch was carried out, which turned out to be successful. At the same time, the director of SpaceX himself claims that if this launch failed, the company would cease to exist.

On July 13, 2009, the fifth Falcon 1 rocket successfully launched into space. It delivered the Malaysian RazakSAT satellite into Earth orbit.

Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy

The Falcon 1 program was limited to only five launches. But the old test rocket was quickly replaced by a new spacecraft - Falcon 9. For the first time, this launch vehicle went into orbit on June 4, 2010. To date, 18 Falcon 9 launches have been carried out, all successful.

The length of the current version of the Falcon 9 rocket is 68.4 meters, and the launch weight is 506 tons, of which 13,150 kilograms can be payload. The carrier was created to deliver the Dragon space shuttle into orbit (first launch on December 8, 2010).

And if the first launches of the Falcon 9 rocket did not imply its reusability, now SpaceX has gradually begun developing technology for reusing the first stage of the rocket. But it is precisely this part of it that is the most expensive item of expenditure during space launches. If you learn to maintain it during launches, the cost of flights into space will significantly decrease.

SpaceX is currently developing the Falcon Heavy spacecraft, which will become the most powerful launch vehicle in history. With a launch weight of 1463 tons, it will be able to carry up to 53 tons of payload. It is expected that with the help of these rockets SpaceX will carry out its missions to Mars.

Space shuttles Dragon and Dragon V2

As mentioned above, in parallel with the creation of increasingly powerful and advanced launch vehicles, SpaceX is also developing space shuttles, which are named Dragon.

Dragon is a cargo spacecraft that can deliver up to 3,310 kilograms of payload into orbit and retrieve up to 2,500 kg from there.

The Dragon shuttle can dock with the International Space Station. At the moment (May 25, 2015), seven successful dockings of this kind have already been carried out, six of which were commercial.

The Dragon spacecraft is meant to be reusable over a two-year period, but SpaceX's contract with NASA calls for a new shuttle to be built for each launch.

Dragon V2 is a new, improved version of SpaceX's Dragon space shuttle. It differs from its predecessor in that it is also designed to transport living people (up to seven people per launch). And this requires completely new technologies to ensure flight safety.

was officially presented in the spring of 2014. At the moment, its technical tests and launches are underway, but not in full mode.

The Dragon V2's first unmanned flight into orbit is expected to take place in December 2016, with a crewed launch planned for April 2017.

The Red Dragon space shuttle may soon become a continuation of the Dragon line. It will be created directly for the Mars mission. However, the details of this project are still unknown to the general public.

Current projects

SpaceX is now focusing on commercial flights to the International Space Station. This allows her to earn money for her further projects. Its main customer is NASA. These two structures have a valid contract, implying mutually beneficial cooperation, at least until 2017.

NASA sees SpaceX as its hope for the continued operation of the International Space Station. Indeed, in 2014, Russia announced its gradual withdrawal from the ISS project, and therefore there may be no one to deliver payloads and astronauts to the orbital station in a few years.

SpaceX hopes to further reduce the cost of Falcon 9 launches. Since the beginning of 2015, it has been attempting a controlled landing of the first stage of the launch vehicle on a special one. The results are close to success, but a perfect landing has not yet occurred.

SpaceX Success Factors

It must be admitted that the current successes of SpaceX have turned out to be quite unpredictable for the global technical community. Few people believed that Elon Musk would be able to achieve the desired result - a technically and commercially successful private space exploration enterprise.

Among the main success factors, experts highlight the following points:

1. The private nature of SpaceX.
The experience of the last decade has shown that business at almost all levels is a much more effective owner than government agencies. This also applies to the space industry.

The private company SpaceX is much more focused on achieving the final result as quickly and cheaply as possible than the government agency NASA. The latter has been repeatedly criticized for bloated budgets created solely for their development.

2. Low cost of space flights
From the very beginning of its existence, SpaceX planned to use reusable spacecraft. This will reduce the cost of each launch by almost half.

Also, the cost of space flights is greatly influenced by the small number of employees at SpaceX. At the moment, it amounts to three and a half thousand people. For comparison, NASA has more than 18 thousand employees.

3. Innovation
SpaceX sees its success in the maximum implementation of innovative technologies. A private company has the opportunity to attract the best specialists in the world in various fields of activity for cooperation. Working for Elon Musk's company is a dream for millions of engineers, programmers and administrators. All of them are aimed at success, at the most rapid and limitless development.

4. Government support
However, the success of the private company SpaceX would not have happened without government support. For example, NASA invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the projects of this brainchild of Elon Musk, calling them payment for future launches. This happened even in those moments when no one could guarantee the success of SpaceX’s initiatives.

The Elon Musk Factor

And, of course, when discussing the reasons for SpaceX’s success, we should not forget about the so-called “Elon Musk factor.” This person is not only the CEO and main investor of the company, but also the chief engineer in it. He is personally involved in the development process, and does it very successfully.

Elon Musk is called the most brilliant person alive. Some even consider him to be an alien who was sent beyond Earth to help us make a technological breakthrough.

At the same time, Musk is not only a talented engineer and visionary, but also quite successful entrepreneur, who managed to turn his childhood dream of flying to Mars into a real, commercially attractive company.

Future projects

The main goal of SpaceX, as mentioned above, is to carry out manned flights to Mars, and in the future, its colonization. Elon Musk once said that thanks to this company, moving one family to the Red Planet in 2029 would cost 500 thousand US dollars.

Musk dreams of a permanently inhabited colony on Mars, entire cities with a population of millions of people. The Red Planet could become a new home for Humanity if something happens to Earth in the future.

Laying the groundwork for the future SpaceX cosmodrome

Finance

It is interesting that SpaceX is in no hurry to begin massively attracting third-party finance to its activities. It is quite sufficient for the funds that Elon Musk himself, NASA, as well as several other investors, including Google Corporation, have already invested in it.

Musk promises that SpaceX will enter the securities market only after the full-fledged process of Mars exploration begins. And this will not happen earlier than in ten years.

Financial analysts estimate SpaceX's current capitalization at $4-5 billion. At the same time, the company's revenue for 2012 amounted to about 400 million, and for 2013 - already 634 million. But in the future, when flights to the Red Planet become a reality, the price of SpaceX may jump tens of times. It is clear why the investors of this company are in no hurry to let anyone else approach it.

Criticism

However, not all analysts praise SpaceX and the managerial genius of Elon Musk. You can increasingly hear criticism of this company.

Some people think it's a big soap bubble. Indeed, at the moment, the cost of sending one kilogram of payload using SpaceX rockets does not differ significantly from the prices of Roscosmos and other space operators.

Critics point out that the American government, through NASA, is recklessly pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into SpaceX, as if it were not a private, but a state-owned company. In addition, thanks to his cooperation with the authorities, Musk receives significant preferences for other areas of his business.

In any case, SpaceX is opening new horizons for Humanity. In the person of this company, in just over ten years, Roscosmos and other “old” players in the space market have acquired a promising competitor. At the same time, his successes become greater and more noticeable every year, even with every new month.

In addition, the successes of SpaceX and Elon Musk are a clear example for other businessmen who are also thinking about the opportunity.

Photo: SpaceX Starship's new prototype is taking shape

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk posted on Twitter a photo of the assembly of the next prototype of the Starship spacecraft, intended for testing, like the previous Starhopper prototype.

One of the images in the background shows what appears to be a Starship Mk1 prototype standing behind a building containing various parts and equipment. It is assembled at a SpaceX facility in South Texas, near Boca Chica.

SpaceX is also building a similar prototype, called Starship Mk2, at Cape Canaveral in Florida, believing that a little in-house competition will result in a better spacecraft design.

SpaceX intends to roll out satellite broadband in the US faster than expected

SpaceX said it plans to change its satellite launch strategy to speed up the deployment of its Starlink global satellite broadband data network and has set a new goal of bringing broadband to the southern United States by the end of next year.

In an Aug. 30 filing with the FCC, SpaceX asked to be allowed to “adjust the orbital spacing of its satellites.” With this change, with each launch, SpaceX will deploy satellites in " three different orbital planes" instead of one, " accelerating the deployment of satellites covering a wider service area».

SpaceX noted in its FCC filing that the adjustment will speed up the delivery of broadband Internet coverage to the southern United States, potentially pushing coverage to southern states by the end of the next hurricane season and to other U.S. territories by the following hurricane season. The Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons begin in the spring and last until the end of November.

SpaceX said it plans to provide continued satellite broadband coverage to northern states after just six launches, but noted that a license change is required to speed up the rollout of satellite service in the southern US. SpaceX's statement emphasized the importance of quickly launching services in areas of the United States where broadband coverage is limited.

SpaceX is preparing to launch a prototype Starship to an altitude of more than 20 km

The aerospace company SpaceX is in full swing preparing the next test flight of the prototype interplanetary spacecraft Starship, as announced by its founder Elon Musk on Twitter.

As part of the preparatory work, the company filed documents this week with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which indicate the maximum flight altitude of the spacecraft prototype is 74,000 feet (22.6 km). That's still a long way from Earth's orbit, but it's still a lot higher than the roughly 500 feet the Starhopper prototype has jumped to in past tests. The submitted documents request the necessary permissions to communicate with the prototype spacecraft while it is in flight.

Previously, Musk said that he intends to immediately test a full-scale prototype of the spacecraft, following the latest successful Starhopper test. As in the Starhopper low-altitude jump test, SpaceX plans to take off and land the prototype, with the landing planned to be made at a short distance from the launch site.

Elon Musk recently hinted that he would hold an event on September 28 related to new details about Starship. It is quite possible that they will show us a prototype of the spacecraft, ready for a test flight in October.

Photos of possible Starship landing sites on Mars have already been taken for SpaceX

Image data collected from the Red Planet's orbit by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed images of potential landing sites for SpaceX's Starship spacecraft.

Apparently, these photos with the note “Candidate landing site for SpaceX Starship” (possible landing areas for SpaceX Starship) were taken by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the request of Elon Musk’s company in preparation for the future Mars Starship mission .

The HiRise image database is searchable by anyone. These SpaceX-related images likely appeared in the recent August database update.

The pictures were taken in June and July. Judging by them, SpaceX is mainly interested in the Arcadia Planitia, where there are both volcanoes and large open areas. For landing, Starship will need a fairly flat surface, free of large stones.

Also of interest is the Amazon Plain (Amazonis Planitia), where, as in Arcadia, deposits of water ice are possible.

NASA's current focus is on the lunar mission, which is seen as a stepping stone to eventual exploration of Mars, but the space agency is already exploring areas on the Red Planet for human landings. Back in 2015, a NASA working group proposed 47 possible sites for landing spacecraft on Mars.

SpaceX Starhopper prototype successfully makes a 150m jump

SpaceX announced the successful completion of the second test of the Starhopper rocket prototype, during which it soared to an altitude of 500 feet (152 m), then flew about 100 m to the side and made a controlled landing in the center of the launch pad.

The tests took place on Tuesday evening at 18:00 CT (Wednesday, 2:00 Moscow time). They were originally scheduled to take place on Monday, but were delayed at the last minute due to a glitch related to the Raptor's engine ignition system.

Police recommended that residents of Boca Chica, Texas, located near the SpaceX launch site, stay outside buildings during testing and take their pets outside due to the risk of injury from broken glass in the windows due to the shock wave.

The prototype rocket, which looks more like a stainless steel water tower, is designed to test the Starship launch system, consisting of a super-heavy launch vehicle with 35 next-generation Raptor engines and a capsule itself with 7 Raptor engines.

From a technical perspective, the test was impressive, demonstrating the thrust and vectoring of the new Raptor engine. This was the first time that a prototype with a large rocket engine powered by liquid methane and oxygen made a successful, sufficiently long flight.

However, this test may also have greater political implications. SpaceX is committed to demonstrating that Starship is a viable vehicle for NASA missions and that it could be used to fly astronauts to the Moon as well as interplanetary missions.

Starship is expected to be used to send astronauts to the Moon, and eventually to carry people and cargo from Earth's orbit to other planets. " One day Starship will land on the rusty sands of Mars“SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on his Twitter account after today’s tests.

Last month, Starhopper made a successful “jump” of 20 meters. The first commercial launches using Starship are scheduled for 2021.

If Musk's plans are implemented, the first Starship landing on the surface of Mars, according to the planned schedule, could be carried out as early as the mid-2020s.

As for the Starhopper prototype, it will later serve as a vertical test bed for the next generation Raptor engines. SpaceX teams in Boca Chica and Cape Canaveral in Florida are already working on two next-generation Starship prototypes, each using three next-generation Raptor engines.

Testing of SpaceX Starhopper prototype rocket postponed at the last minute

A test scheduled for Monday of an early prototype of SpaceX's Starship rocket, called Starhopper, was canceled for unspecified reasons.

After two hours of waiting, at 18:00 local time (2:00 Moscow time) the “Hang up” command was received. The next attempt will take place on Tuesday.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has hinted that the problem may be with the igniters in Raptor, the company's newest rocket engine.

This is the second time SpaceX has postponed testing, during which the Starhopper prototype was supposed to fly 150 meters before landing on the pad. Before this, it was planned to be held in early August.

Residents in Boca Chica, Texas, near the SpaceX launch site, are asked to evacuate buildings and take their pets outside during the test to avoid the risk of injury from broken glass in windows due to the shock wave.

An attempt to fire test an engine on SpaceX's Starhopper test rocket in July resulted in a fire that consumed approximately 100 acres (40.5 hectares) of terrain. Therefore, the measures taken by the police can hardly be called excessive.

Police ask local residents to leave their homes while SpaceX Starhopper is being tested

Today at 5:00 pm ET (Tuesday 00:00 Moscow time), SpaceX plans to conduct a new test of a prototype Starship rocket called Starhopper, which should make a 200 m jump at its South Texas launch site, located two miles (3.2 km) ) from the town of Boca Chica.

Residents of Boca Chica are not particularly happy about this, as the police urged them to be prepared for possible troubles. Even if residents do not want to leave the area, police insist that they remain outside of any building or structure during the test to avoid injury from broken windows or possible destruction.

Residents of Boca Chica will be alerted by police sirens 10 minutes before the tests begin in order to “avoid or minimize the risk of injury.” They seem to be left at their own discretion to decide whether or not to respond to the sound of the siren.

In addition to the warning, local law enforcement agencies announced the planned temporary blocking of the only highway accessible to residents of the region, as well as the closure of access to the local beach.

In July, SpaceX launched Starhopper for the first time from the same site. Burning rocket debris started a fire that burned about 100 acres (40.5 hectares).

Tesla Roadster and Starman dummy complete a full orbit around the Sun

According to online sources, the Tesla Roadster and the Starman dummy, sent into space on the Falcon Heavy rocket last year, made their first orbit around the Sun.

Let us recall that in February 2018, SpaceX successfully launched its own Falcon Heavy rocket. To demonstrate the rocket's capabilities, it was necessary to provide a "dummy load".

As a result, a roadster went into space general director SpaceX Elon Musk. Due to the high risk of any unforeseen circumstances arising with the new rocket, SpaceX did not dare to place anything truly valuable and expensive on board, such as satellites. At the same time, Elon Musk did not want to send ordinary cargo into space, believing that the launch of the Tesla Roadster would be a more interesting and inspiring event.

The Tesla Roadster electric car was placed in the fairings of the second stage of the Falcon Heavy rocket. The driver's seat was taken by a mannequin named Starman, who was wearing a spacesuit. The successful launch of the rocket took place on February 6, 2018, and since then Elon Musk’s roadster has been in outer space.

It's worth noting that the Tesla Roadster continues to move extremely high speed. A special website is tracking the trajectory of the unusual space object. According to the site, the roadster and the dummy have already completed an entire revolution around the Sun. Observers say that the roadster is gradually approaching Mars.

NASA astronauts tested in new SpaceX spacesuits in preparation for the Crew Dragon mission

The Crew Dragon may not fly until next year, but NASA astronauts are feeling comfortable in new spacesuits from SpaceX. Active preparations are currently underway for the long-awaited test flight - as part of this process, a space fashion show was recently held.

There were no podiums or runways, but NASA shared several photos of astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. The latter recently got to know the spacesuits in person at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

The public had already seen the pair before the Crew Dragon show, but this time they wore their new SpaceX suits as part of a full test run for the upcoming launch. The goal was to practice all the steps that will take place before the Falcon 9 rocket sends astronauts from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to dock with the International Space Station.

Inside the ship simulator, the future team also went through several emergency scenarios. Crew Dragon is one of two new spacecraft (along with Boeing's Starliner) that NASA has selected for its commercial crew delivery program. The goal is to return human space launches to American soil for the first time since the end of the Shuttle era. Currently, the delivery of American astronauts to the ISS is carried out by Russia.

The Demo-2 mission to the space station was originally scheduled to take place in July, but was delayed after an empty Crew Dragon capsule exploded during a ground test in April. The investigation revealed an accident with a leak in the pressurization system - now the first launch with people is expected in 2020.

Video: SpaceX autonomous platform catches falling fairing of Falcon 9 rocket

Private aerospace company SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Air Force Base on Tuesday, August 6, at 7:23 p.m. EDT. Canaveral Florida rocket delivered the Israeli space communications satellite Spacecom AMOS-17 into orbit.

31 minutes after launch, the AMOS-17 satellite was launched into its intended orbit. Its launch was carried out free of charge, since last year the AMOS-6 satellite, worth more than $200 million, was lost due to the explosion of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle during static engine tests.

The launch was originally scheduled for Sunday evening (local time), but was postponed after a “suspicious valve” was discovered in one of the engines of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle and it was decided to replace it.

This was the third and final flight for this Falcon 9 first stage, which was used to launch the Telstar-19 VANTAGE satellite in July 2018 and the Es'hail-2 satellite in November 2018.

SpaceX launches ride-sharing service for small satellite operators

SpaceX has announced a new proposal for... sharing rockets for launching satellites, thanks to which companies will be able to send their small satellites into orbit along with other similar spacecraft on the Falcon 9 rocket.

Until now, SpaceX has largely focused on sending larger satellites into space or bulky cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. New program called the SmallSat Rideshare Program, it offers operators of tiny satellites more options when launching into orbit. They will not need to adapt to the launch of a large satellite or spacecraft. Instead, Falcon 9 will carry multiple small satellites weighing between 330 pounds (150 kg) and 660 pounds (299 kg).

According to SpaceX, for a satellite weighing up to 330 pounds, the base launch cost is $2.25 million. Launching heavier satellites weighing up to 660 pounds will cost $4.5 million. For comparison, the American company Rocket Lab, which specializes in launching small satellites into space, charges between $5 million and $6 million per flight.

NASA will help Spacex and Blue Origin develop technologies for future missions

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to land astronauts on the Moon again in 2024 as part of the Artemis program.

In order to prepare for this and future missions, the space agency has selected 13 American companies that will be assisted in developing new technologies for future projects.

Jim Reuter, deputy director of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), explained that the agency has identified key areas where it needs new technologies for future missions, including planned manned missions to the Moon and Mars.

Among the space agency’s partners within the Artemis program is SpaceX, which will be jointly with the Space Center. Kennedy in Florida is working to further improve its technology to perform vertical landing super-heavy rockets to the surface of the Moon.

In turn, Blue Origin will collaborate with NASA's Johnson Space Center to create a navigation system that will help ensure spacecraft land accurately in various regions of the Moon. The company will also work with Glenn and Johnson on a fuel cell system for its Blue Moon lunar lander. In addition, NASA will help Blue Origin develop heat-resistant materials for liquid rocket engine injectors that will be used in spacecraft for lunar missions.

The first launch of the Crew Dragon spacecraft with crew to the ISS has been postponed

The first flight of the American spacecraft Crew Dragon with a crew to the International Space Station has been postponed. Initially, the launch was planned to take place in November of this year, but it was decided to postpone the launch to December. RIA Novosti reports this, citing an anonymous source in the rocket and space industry.

The reusable Space Shuttle manned transport system ceased to be used by American astronauts in 2011. Since then, the delivery of crews to the ISS has been carried out by Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Private US companies have built several manned spacecraft in recent years, including SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner. After testing in unmanned and manned modes, the mentioned ships will be certified by the American space agency NASA and will be used for routine flights with a crew.

The first test flight to the ISS without a crew for the Crew Dragon spacecraft took place in March of this year. It was previously assumed that the crewed flight would take place on November 15, but according to new reports, the launch date has been postponed to December 17. A few days ago, SpaceX Vice President Hans Koenigsmann, when asked whether Crew Dragon would fly with a crew before the end of the year, said: “I don’t think it’s impossible, but it’s getting more and more difficult.”.

Not long ago, the launch of the spacecraft was postponed from September to a later date. This had to be done due to the explosion that occurred during testing of the Crew Dragon emergency rescue system in April of this year. SpaceX representatives said that the explosion occurred due to a failure of the check valve in the helium boost system of the vehicle's engine. Before conducting a manned flight, SpaceX needs to conduct repeated ground tests of the rescue system, as well as test it during flight on a Falcon 9 heavy rocket.

First jump of SpaceX Starhopper: 20 seconds, normal flight

SpaceX's Starship prototype—a working stainless steel Starhopper mockup with one Raptor propulsion engine and more than two thrusters—has made its first jump upward and sideways. The flight lasted only 20 seconds, but the model did not explode, did not capsize, and landed on the supports where it was planned - on a second platform prepared away from the launch site.

Due to the heavy smoke on the launch pad, little can be seen in the video. The rocket disappeared behind a smoke screen in one place and emerged from it in another. Also in the smoke you can see the top of Starhopper, flashed above the place where it was before the launch. On Twitter, Elon Musk joked that water tanks don't fly. Starhopper jumped. The lifting height, according to reports from company representatives, was about 20 meters and, after a second of hovering, the device moved about the same amount to the side.

Accompanied by an unexpected burst of flame from the top of the prototype. The automation immediately stopped operating the engines, and nothing terrible happened. According to a SpaceX representative, the system is in the early stages of testing and adjustments in this case are common.

The company made its previous jump attempt - a vertical takeoff of the prototype to a height of 65 feet (19.8 meters) and subsequent landing - ten days ago. Then the fire was more. A flash of flame engulfed the entire ship. At the same time, as we can see, the second attempt was made in a short time, which indicates minor damage to Starhopper during the first attempt at a test climb to altitude. Starhopper made its first jump on a leash to a height of just a few centimeters in April of this year.

In addition to lifting to a height, the prototype will undergo lateral movement tests. For this purpose, Starhopper is equipped with shunting engines. We can expect these to be the maneuvering thrusters that were already powering the Falcon 9 boosters. Another test site has been built east of the Starhopper launch pad, where the prototype will likely be moved during its low-altitude test ascent.

On Starhopper and Starship from SpaceX big plans. The rocket should send astronauts to the Moon and further to Mars. It was expected to be put into operation in 2020 to send cargo into low-Earth orbit. But for now the project smacks of dampness. The company expects to carry out more Starhopper jumps in September or October of this year.

The failure of the fourth launch would mean the collapse of the company; Musk himself said in an interview that the company had no room for error on the fourth launch. The launch took place on September 28, 2008, the rocket carried only a dummy load of 150 kg. The launch was successful and the cargo was delivered to the intended orbit. Elon proved that his company is not hopeless and has a right to exist. On July 13, 2009, Falcon 1 successfully launched into space with the Malaysian RazakSAT satellite on board. This was the last planned flight of the Falcon 1 family, and the company canceled the project and began work on a new family of launch vehicles called Falcon 9.

SpaceX officially announced the Falcon 9 on September 8, 2005, a year before the first launch of the first family of launch vehicles. In 2008, the company actively tested all components of the rocket, and on June 4, 2010, the rocket stood upright on the Cape Canaveral launch pad and was ready for launch. The first launch was canceled a few seconds before takeoff due to technical problems; the second time, the rocket successfully said goodbye to the Earth and delivered the cargo to the intended orbit. The second rocket launch marked the first private return cargo ship, called Dragon, which was developed by SpaceX. Dragon was created for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services project. Dragon was supposed to deliver power and equipment to the ISS to maintain the operation of the station. 7 months after the first launch of the Falcon 9, the new rocket and the Dragon spacecraft, ready for operation, made a demonstration flight, in which the Dragon successfully circled the Earth twice and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX won the contract from NASA, and from that moment on, Dragon became a regular guest on the ISS. In 2014, Elon Musk introduced Dragon V2, a passenger spacecraft based on the original cargo Dragon. V2 can accommodate 7 astronauts. In tandem with the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, SpaceX received a US$2.6 billion contract from NASA to complete development of the vehicle and certify it for flight to the ISS. Already in 2017, Dragon V2 with 4 astronauts on board will fly towards the ISS; until this moment, of course, the company will more than once make test flights without passengers. On July 14, 2014, a new version of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, version 1.1R, with Dragon on board, was successfully launched. Modification R means English. Reusable- reusable. The idea was that during the undocking of the rocket, the upper part with Dragon would be sent to the ISS, and the lower part would return back to Earth and land on a special landing pad, after which it would be serviced and ready for re-launch. But from the moment of an idea to its successful implementation in the space industry, a lot of time and a great many trial tests pass.

In 5 attempts, Elon and his team taught their rocket to successfully descend from a great height and reach the landing site. At the moment, the rocket is having trouble making a smooth final landing, but Elon says SpaceX only needs 2 more tries and the rocket will be able to successfully land on the platforms. At the moment, the last attempt to land the rocket failed before it even began: at the 139th second of the flight, a flight anomaly occurred, which ended 8 seconds later with the destruction of the launch vehicle. This is the first ever failed launch of a Falcon 9 family rocket from SpaceX; up to this point, the company had successfully sent its rockets into space 20 times in a row. This December, SpaceX will launch Flacon 9, a new version 1.2. The company has over 20 launches planned ahead until 2019.

Having gone through the history of a young but extremely promising company, one thing can be said: SpaceX is just beginning its journey, and if Elon Musk and his team can withstand all the technological problems that stand (and will stand in the future) in their way, then perhaps , our children will already be able, according to Musk’s idea, to fly into orbit for the weekend and, perhaps, even visit Mars. The company is moving by leaps and bounds, and ten years ago there was not even a working rocket, and today SpaceX is successfully delivering cargo to the ISS. Let's hope that their latest unsuccessful launch in June will serve as an opportunity for them to improve their rockets and this December another rocket with the blue SpaceX lettering will conquer space.

1. The full name of the company is Space Exploration Technologies Corporation.

2. SpaceX is first private company, which has ever built and launched its own rockets and space capsules to the International Space Station and returned them to Earth.

3. On its first test flight in December 2010, the Dragon capsule launched a wheel of cheese into orbit. Before successful start SpaceX officials hinted that Dragon was carrying special cargo into space, but the company did not reveal the secret payload until the spacecraft returned from orbit and crashed into the Pacific Ocean.

4. In 2012, SpaceX became the first private space company to dock with the International Space Station.

5. On May 30, 2014, SpaceX introduced new version ship - Dragon V2, a reusable manned spacecraft. It can transport up to seven astronauts to the ISS. The uniqueness of the ship lies in the ability to carry out a controlled landing on Earth using the built-in SuperDraco engines with the precision of a helicopter. It also has a reserve parachute system.

6. Musk cut the cost of the flight to the International Space Station by 90%, reducing it from $1 billion. for one mission up to $60 million. Also, according to the company, thanks to economies of scale (changes in the cost of a unit of production depending on the scale of production) and the reuse of returned stages, SpaceX will be able in the future to reduce prices to $5-7 million per launch.

7. SpaceX has developed a program to provide high-speed Internet to the entire planet. The launch of fully functional satellites is planned for 2019, and completion of deployment is expected by 2024. The launch of two prototypes took place on February 22, 2018.

8. On February 6, 2018, SpaceX conducted the first successful launch of the Falcon Heavy super-heavy launch vehicle, thereby becoming the most powerful launch vehicle in existence. It is capable of delivering up to 64 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit, thereby bringing the reality of travel to Mars closer.

9. The Dragon capsule, which is launched into space by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, is the only currently operating cargo ship that can return cargo from space.

10. The Dragon capsule is named after the Peter Paul & Mary song “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Musk said he used the name because many critics thought his goals were impossible when he founded SpaceX in 2002. The Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are named after Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon, from Star Wars.

11. Part of the filming of Iron Man 2 took place at the SpaceX plant in Hawthorne, California.

12. Starting in 2018, NASA astronauts will be carried into space on SpaceX rockets as part of the NASA Commercial Crew program, rather than relying on transportation from international space agencies such as Roscosmos

13. As a payload with the Falcon Heavy rocket, Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster electric car with a dummy inside and an Arch 5D disk drive with a collection of novels from the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov was sent into space. In July 2018, the Tesla Roadster will cross the orbit of Mars, and in November it will reach its maximum distance from the Sun - 255 million km

14. SpaceX is actively involved in the implementation of the Hyperloop project (vacuum train project). On August 31, 2017, Musk demonstrated a capsule created jointly by SpaceX and Tesla, which was able to reach a speed of 355 km/h. In mid-October, Musk received the first official permission to build a full-fledged Hyperloop route, which should connect the outskirts of Baltimore with the territory of Hanover (Maryland). In February 2018, Musk received permission to prepare the station's construction site.

15. SpaceX has developed a project for the Interplanetary Transport System, which involves the creation of reusable space transport to deliver people to Mars for the purpose of colonization. On September 29, 2017, Elon Musk announced plans to develop an optimized interplanetary transport system, codenamed BFR (Big Falcon Rocket), which in the future will replace all SpaceX rockets and spacecraft. The Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after its flight to the ISS ... (ISS). The company announced this on its Twitter page. SpaceX. “Good splashdown of Dragon is confirmed, the ship has completed its third mission on... SpaceX launched the Israeli AMOS-17 satellite into Earth orbit ... Israeli satellite AMOS-17. This is reported on the company website SpaceX. The rocket launch took place on August 6 at 19:23 local... Sahara, as well as in the Middle East and Europe. Chapter SpaceX Elon Musk posted a video of the Falcon 9 landing on his Twitter account, after which he conducted additional tests. In February SpaceX launched into space with the help of Falcon 9 the first Israeli lunar... The company's Dragon cargo spacecraft SpaceX successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), NASA reports. Docking...). This is the 18th commercial resupply flight to the ISS. SpaceX carries out commissioned by NASA. The ship delivered more than 2... A video of a fire on a SpaceX spacecraft has appeared on the Internet. ... the vehicle's engines have too much fuel. As Mirror writes, the device SpaceX did not receive significant damage. Earlier, on July 16, Roscosmos reported that they consult weekly with SpaceX regarding the safety of their spacecraft, but the company has... about problems with Boeing manned spacecraft (CST-100 Starliner) and SpaceX(Crew Dragon). The shortcomings, NASA believes, could affect... Roscosmos questioned the safety of SpaceX and Boeing spacecraft ... Roscosmos consults weekly with Boeing and SpaceX regarding the safety of their spacecraft, but the companies are still “... about problems with Boeing manned spacecraft (CST-100 Starliner) and SpaceX(Crew Dragon) warned the American space agency NASA. These shortcomings can... A fire broke out at a SpaceX test site in the United States. ...at the testing site for the Starship spacecraft, which is being developed by SpaceX. This was reported by Florida Today with reference to a company representative... it was possible to extinguish the fire thanks to fire brigades who quickly arrived on the scene. Representative SpaceX noted that the cause of the incident is being clarified, however, according to preliminary data, it was a fire... SpaceX has lost contact with three Starlink satellites At least three satellites out of 60 launched by the company SpaceX, stopped communicating, reports Business Insider with reference to... the satellites have not yet reached the specified orbit, the publication clarifies. Previously Founder SpaceX Elon Musk did not exclude that during the implementation of the project something... SpaceX launched a rocket with 24 satellites SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy rocket with... and military purposes several hours late. On Twitter SpaceX the launch delay was explained by the need for additional checks before launch. Founder SpaceX Elon Musk previously called this launch... - scientists and NASA employees who wished to be in space after death. SpaceX carried out the third launch of Falcon Heavy. The first one is a test... SpaceX delayed the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket by several hours Elon Musk's company SpaceX delayed the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket by several hours. About... atomic clocks for space navigation from NASA. In the beginning of April SpaceX postponed the first commercial launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket. The reason was the weather... Rogozin did not see any vacancies for Elon Musk at Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin is ready to meet with the founder of the American space company SpaceX Elon Musk, but he will not hire him. ... Rogozin thanked the official on behalf of the successful launch of Crew Dragon SpaceX, adding that his company has always admired the Russian rocket and space... SpaceX reported the successful splashdown of Dragon after returning from the ISS ... delivery of goods to the station, says the company’s Twitter page SpaceX. The spacecraft was launched into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket in early May... SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with 60 satellites for the third time SpaceX on the third attempt, he launched the Falcon 9 launch vehicle from 60 ..., at 22:30 local time (5:30 Moscow time). IN SpaceX reported that the satellites will be launched into orbit at an altitude of 440... Musk went to court over a tender to replace Russian RD-180 engines ... awarded contracts to missile systems without justification, and demands that its proposal be reconsidered. SpaceX Elon Musk in court accused the US Air Force of violating the rules... handing out contracts for three unproven missiles of unknown parameters. SpaceX insists on reviewing the tender results. The company said it was offering its... The lawsuit emphasizes that the Air Force based on one Starship project portfolio SpaceX assigned a high risk. As Reuters clarifies, the competition was held as part of... SpaceX files a lawsuit against the US government ... to launch satellites for national defense. Private space company SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the US federal government, writes The Washington Post ... - due to the confidentiality of the claim, it remains unclear which government procurement program is being appealed SpaceX. However, as The Washington Post notes, information about the lawsuit has appeared... The United States has developed a certification agreement SpaceX, and the company refused the claims. In early May, a space truck SpaceX Dragon successfully delivered cargo to... SpaceX postpones the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket with 60 satellites for the second time American space technology manufacturer SpaceX For the second time, the launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle was postponed from 60... SpaceX postponed the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket with 60 Internet satellites for a day ... taken on May 17 at 5:30 Moscow time. May 12 owner SpaceX Elon Musk suggested that in the first mission “much will go wrong... The Wall Street Journal wrote at the end of December last year, SpaceX As part of the project, Starlink plans to raise $500 to launch satellites ... to implement a satellite program of $3.5 billion. According to estimates SpaceX, taking into account the launch of all 11 thousand devices, $10 billion will be required... Russia sent NASA questions and comments due to the smell of alcohol on the ISS ... ships through an intermediary represented by NASA, and not directly from the company SpaceX. According to Vlasov, American partners understand that “they will have to answer... 2 mg per cubic meter. m. Company's Dragon-2 spacecraft SpaceX was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on March 2. Flight... The Dragon cargo spacecraft docked at the ISS ... to the International Space Station, according to Elon Musk’s company page SpaceX on Twitter. The Dragon's rendezvous with the ISS was broadcast on the website... The launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle for the ISS has been postponed to May 4 The launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle with the Dragon spacecraft, which is supposed to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), was postponed to May 4 due to power problems (previously scheduled for May 3). This was reported on the website of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is noted that... SpaceX reported details of the failed Crew Dragon engine test ... during a press conference at NASA, the vice president of the company confirmed SpaceX Hans Koenigsman. According to him, the company believes that the problem is... engines that have previously undergone 600 tests. He emphasized that SpaceX confident in the device and that the investigation into the incident is ongoing. We are talking about an unsuccessful test of SuperDraco engines at the end of April. IN SpaceX then they said that an “anomaly” had occurred on the ship’s capsule. Florida Edition... The launch of the Dragon cargo ship for the ISS has been postponed to May 1 ... (ISS), postponed to May 1st. This is stated in the message SpaceX on the microblog on Twitter. It is noted that the start of the 17th mission... it was assumed that the ship would be launched on April 30. Last time SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 launch vehicle with a Dragon truck to the ISS... Roscosmos expressed its readiness to help Musk in investigating the accident with Dragon-2 Roscosmos specialists are ready to help Elon Musk and SpaceX in the investigation of an accident that occurred during testing of the emergency system... SpaceX unsuccessfully tested the engines of the new Crew Dragon spacecraft ... . Testing engines for the Crew Dragon spacecraft, with the help of which SpaceX Elon Musk’s plans to transport astronauts to the ISS and back have ended... the test led to an anomaly on the test stand,” the agency quotes the message SpaceX. The company clarified that it is conducting an investigation and working closely with partners... of the launches,” he added. The first to report an emergency situation during company testing SpaceX Florida Today reported. It published photographs showing... SpaceX lost Falcon Heavy stage at sea ... Florida. “Over the weekend, due to harsh sea conditions, the team SpaceX could not ensure the safety of transportation of the stage to Port Canaveral,” the publication quotes the statement SpaceX. The company clarified that as weather conditions worsen, the stage... a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the first time SpaceX managed to land all three components of the rocket. Maria Bondarenko ​Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy rocket launched a Saudi satellite into orbit Company's Falcon Heavy rocket SpaceX Elon Musk launched from the cosmodrome in Florida and successfully... successfully landed two accelerators and the central block of a heavy rocket. Previously SpaceX postponed the first commercial launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket to April 10...

Technologies and media, 09 March, 09:49

Musk responded to Rogozin’s congratulations on the successful test of Crew Dragon ...for congratulating us on the success of the Crew Dragon mission. "Thank you on behalf of SpaceX! - he wrote on Twitter, adding that his American company... -space technology. Earlier, on March 8, it became known that the company's ship SpaceX Crew Dragon (Dragon-2) successfully completed its mission to the ISS and...

Technologies and media, 08 March, 17:04

The Crew Dragon spacecraft lands on the water in the Atlantic Ocean Company ship SpaceX successfully completed a mission to the ISS and splashed down off the east coast... a new era of astronautics. The company's Crew Dragon (Dragon-2) spacecraft SpaceX successfully splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. This is stated on Twitter... the Go Searcher vessel. Congratulations on the successful return of the ship to Earth SpaceX head of the American aerospace agency Jim Bridenstine. "Today's splashdown of the Crew capsule...

Technologies and media, 08 March, 11:04

SpaceX's newest spacecraft undocks from the ISS ... The company's first private spacecraft Dragon-2 (Crew Dragon) SpaceX After a five-day joint flight, he successfully undocked from the International Space Station (...

Technologies and media, 08 March, 01:16

Elon Musk praised the Russian Angara launch vehicle Head of an American company SpaceX Elon Musk said that Russian space engines are the best and... of the year. With him was a briefcase full of dollars, which the head SpaceX I was already planning to buy three missiles. At a meeting with company representatives...

Technologies and media, 03 March, 18:14

Musk thanked in Russian for congratulations on the Dragon docking with the ISS Head of companies SpaceX and Tesla Elon Musk responded in Russian to congratulations on... expressed confidence that cooperation will develop. Also Elon Musk's company SpaceX US President Donald Trump congratulated him on the successful launch. The company's first-ever private manned spacecraft, Dragon-2 SpaceX launched on March 2 from the Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida...

Technologies and media, 03 March, 17:23

The ISS crew reported an alarm due to the SpaceX ship ... of how the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the station SpaceX. The crew's conversations were broadcast on the NASA website. Initially, a breakdown was assumed... Roscosmos congratulated NASA on the successful docking of the newest spacecraft. Elon Musk's company SpaceX US President Donald Trump congratulated him on the successful launch. March 3, the company's first ever private manned spacecraft, Dragon-2 SpaceX docked with the ISS at 05:51 Eastern Time (13... Trump congratulated SpaceX on the launch of the newest Dragon-2 spacecraft to the ISS US President Donald Trump congratulated Elon Musk's company SpaceX with the successful launch of the private spacecraft Dragon-2. About this... it “ignites” again. Great job and success. Congratulations SpaceX and everyone!” he said. The day before the company SpaceX launched the first ever manned Dragon spacecraft...

Technologies and media, 02 March, 15:14

A video has appeared of the launch of the newest Dragon-2 spacecraft to the ISS Chapter SpaceX Elon Musk posted on his Twitter a video of the launch of a private manned aircraft... how safe the flight is for the crew. Upon successful completion of the mission SpaceX Musk will send a mannequin named after the heroine of “Alien” to the ISS ... the mission with the dummy (Demo-1) will be successful, then in April SpaceX will test the flight abort system. After this, the company will launch... . In February, Reuters wrote that NASA warned Boeing and SpaceX about shortcomings in their manned ships. According to him, aerospace... refueling a launch vehicle when the crew is already in the capsule. Representative SpaceX James Gleeson said the company has developed "one of the safest...

Technologies and media, 22 Feb, 06:23

SpaceX launches rocket carrying Israel's first lunar lander ...Spaceil. The probe is scheduled to land on the Moon on April 11. Company SpaceX Elon Musk successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket...

Technologies and media, 21 Feb, 22:19

NASA found Boeing and SpaceX ships a threat to the space program ... more than was officially announced. NASA warned Boeing and SpaceX about the shortcomings in the manned spacecraft they are developing. These shortcomings... "most" of these problems before sending astronauts on flights. "U SpaceX and Boeing have comparable safety concerns,” one said... exceeding NASA safety requirements,” Barrett said. In turn, the representative SpaceX James Gleeson said the company has developed "one of the safest...

Technologies and media, 11 Feb, 08:16

Musk declared the superiority of the SpaceX engine over the Russian RD-180 Raptor engine developed by an American company SpaceX, broke the record of the Russian RD-180 for the level of pressure in the chamber... RD-180 is 266.7 bar. At the beginning of February the head SpaceX reported the successful first burn of the Raptor rocket engine, which will...