SpaceX gets into the space race
Take that, Jeff Bezos.
SpaceX, the startup space transportation company funded by billionaire Elon Musk, jumped into the lead of the private space race after a nearly successful launch of its Falcon 1 rocket this week.
The two-stage, kerosene-powered rocket reached an altitude of 200 miles on Wednesday after taking off from the Kwajalein Army Range in the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, a guidance problem with the second stage prevented the Falcon 1 from reaching orbital velocity and the rocket and its payload disintegrated when it re-entered the atmosphere.
Still, you have to give the folks at SpaceX some major props for shooting a rocket 200 miles high into near-Earth space. For privately-funded space efforts, this is most impressive feat yet, putting SpaceX ahead of Bezos’ Blue Origin program. And the Flacon 1 should be a bit more practical than Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic effort to put well-heeled tourinsts into low orbit.
SpaceX hopes to launch two more rockets this summer, including one to put a satellite into orbit for the Naval Research Laboratory.
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