Oft-Delayed Rocket Liftoff is a Letdown

By Muhammed El-Hasan DAILY BREEZE

Space Exploration Technologies launched its Falcon 1 rocket on its maiden flight Friday, only to have the rocket fail moments after liftoff.

Known as SpaceX, the El Segundo-based company was founded in 2002 to develop low-cost rockets to broaden access to space.

“We had a successful liftoff and Falcon made it well clear of the launch pad, but unfortunately the vehicle was lost later in the first stage burn. More information will be posted once we have had time to analyze the problem,” company founder Elon Musk wrote in his Internet log about 30 minutes after the launch.

The launch occurred about 1:30 p.m. Pacific time from a launch pad in the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Musk has said before that he would continue his efforts despite initial failure.

A co-founder of PayPal, Musk has invested about $100 million of his personal fortune into SpaceX.

“Elon has always said that he would support the company through three failures,” SpaceX spokeswoman Dianne Molina said.

SpaceX provided streaming video of the launch on its Web site.

Amid swaying palm trees and birds flying near the launch pad, the two-stage rocket took off with no apparent problems.

A few moments after takeoff, the video feed went black.

James Wertz, president of El Segundo-based Microcosm and a competitor of Musk’s, watched the launch Friday.

“It’s unfortunate. Launching rockets is obviously a difficult task. And we wish them the very best of success in their next attempt,” said Wertz, who also is developing low-cost rockets. “I’m sure they’ll proceed. In this business, mistakes on the first launch happen all the time. It’s not unusual.”

Wertz said Musk’s failure doesn’t affect Microcosm’s rocket work.

Jim Cantrell, a rocket-industry consultant and friend of Musk’s, said the view from the Falcon 1′s onboard camera seemed to show the vehicle pitching.

“It could be nothing or it (could) be a problem with control,” said Cantrell, CEO of Strategic Space Development in Hyde Park, Utah. “I’m certain he’ll fix it and go out and try again.”

Cantrell said he was concerned about how SpaceX’s customers would react after a second failure.

Friday’s launch failure followed three previous scrubbed launches because of rocket anomalies. SpaceX has contracts for nine scheduled launches through 2010 worth nearly $200 million.

Friday’s rocket carried an Air Force Academy science satellite meant to measure space plasma phenomena.

If the Falcon 1′s maiden flight had succeeded, SpaceX would have made history by launching the lowest-priced rocket to orbit. The rocket’s total cost was set at $6.7 million.

The Falcon 1 would have achieved several other firsts including being the only semi-reusable orbital rocket other than the space shuttle, SpaceX said.

Cantrell, who helped SpaceX as it was starting up as a company, said that Musk was smart and determined, and unlikely to give up now.

“I e-mailed him after the rocket (failure),” Cantrell said. “I said, ‘Hey, sorry for your loss.’ He said, ‘Yeah, thanks.’ That’s Elon.”