Space Exploration Technologies, a California company known as SpaceX, is trying to launch the first privately developed and financed rocket into Earth orbit, company sources said on Saturday.
The Silicon Valley company is ready to try for the fourth time to send its Falcon 1 rocket into Earth orbit between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday local time (2400 GMT Sunday and 0500 GMT Monday) when a launch window opens, said Diane Murphy, the company's vice president for marketing and communications.
The company had failed on three previous attempts, but this fourth opportunity "is huge," said Murphy.
SpaceX is bidding to provide a much lower-cost path to orbit for private industry and researchers.
The latest Falcon 1 attempt Aug. 2 had an apparently perfect launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific before reaching an altitude of 135 miles (216 kilometers). The rocket failed to reach orbit when an unanticipated performance characteristic of the new engine type being used on the flight prevented the rocket's second stage from separating safely from the first stage.
It was a high-profile failure. In addition to a satellite for the Department of Defense, the rocket carried the ashes of more than 200 people, including astronaut Gordon Cooper and James Doohan, the actor who played "Scotty" on "Star Trek."
"At this point, we are certain as to the origin of the problem, " said Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, in a posting on the company blog several days after the third failure. The company rapidly prepared another Falcon rocket for Sunday's fourth attempt.
An infusion of private capital gives the company the capacity to keep trying to prove that the Falcon design can reach orbit for as little as one-tenth the current cost of commercial launches.
"Even if this one doesn't go right, we still have money for three more flights," Murphy said.
Although SpaceX says each of its failures "retire risk" from the development of its rocket models, as engineers collect data on what will work, the company is eager to demonstrate to the aerospace world that its rockets, which Musk helped design, can be successful.
The company hopes that later designs in its Falcon series will launch resupply missions to the International Space Station. Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 after selling his money transfer e-commerce PayPal to the online auction web site eBay for 1.5 billion dollars.
The launch window Sunday could be anytime between 4 p.m. and 9 p. m. Pacific Time. If the weather or another problem prevents an attempt Sunday, SpaceX could try again Monday or Tuesday. Another launch window would open in late October if technical issues prevent an attempt this week.
Sunday's flight is not carrying a payload for anyone else, in part because SpaceX wanted for a quick turnaround after the August failure. |
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