Wow. Elon Musk should be damn proud of himself.

Pwnage

The pics on the "Flip-Book" link are in reverse, starting from orbit and ending at the launch pad.

You may want to scroll to the bottom and work your way up.

DavidPFarrell

So, when is the gizmodo contest to stay at the Space Hilton sponsored by Mountain Dew and Taco Bell using the Google Orbital Flyer?

Sonikku

It's amazing what these private organizations can do nowadays...

...especially compared with how little NASA is able to accomplish with their ridiculously minuscule budget.

Stang70Fastback

finally space tourists can get into orbit now getting back may be hard but at least they will get there

crash1105

Quite a business plan... build very expensive rocket and blast it into space. I wonder how many sats they'll have to launch to break even.

chrism123

@chrism123: That's quite a commenting plan you have there. I wonder how many more comments you'll have to make before you actually say something worthwhile.

There was a good feature in the Washington Post the other day celebrating the first 50 years of NASA. It had a nice retrospective as well as a feature or three on the future of space exploration, including a good story on Musk and SpaceX.

It really is a shame that human beings spend so much time finding evermore inventive and powerful ways to kill each other, instead of channeling that drive and money into helping each other. There was a quote from the head of NASA, Griffin I think, that said something about Earth being a planet with a history of extinction events. I don't think he was talking about war directly, but his comments do highlight the idea of looking further beyond the distance we have to go for a tank of gas or a glass of water.

TonyRockyHorror

@theotherstevejobs: You do realize that not only was this done about 50 years after the govt. was able to do the same thing, but his company is receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in NASA funding for their larger rocket? And that the vast, vast majority of the science and engineering know-how was developed under government programs?

icelight

Pwnage - you're damn skippy.

I only wish i had the chops and the balls to go work for a company like that. This is a great great day. This is on par with reaching America, first flight, supersonic, flight around the world, and definitely with my hero, Burt Rutan, and Spaceship One, Government ZERO!

And its things like this that make me wish the government would just go away and leave me alone!

theotherstevejobs

@chrism123: As far as rockets go, it isn't that expensive. Its nearly an order of magnitude cheaper than any other launch system currently or formerly available.

BZWingZero

So.. why is it that Gizmodo didn't have a writeup on here with the web cam footage and the whole shebang like last time? I was counting on you guys . *cries in corner*

aeroworks

What's the chances that SpaceX just took photos of China's launch, and photoshopped it to look like theirs, which is why there wasn't a video. There will be in about two days after they re-dub all the audio to English, and the render farm sends back the video after the edits.

Git Em SteveDave loves this guy-->

@TonyRockyHorror I'm not sure how shooting another rocket into space contributes to "helping each other", but it's pretty cool it was done so cheaply in comparison to govt. efforts. Would be even more impressive if they can make it pay for itself somehow. Was hoping someone in the know would share the plan, if there is one.

chrism123

Warning 3/4 chance you won't make it into space. I can has 1 million dollars?

But seriously its great what they are doing. Maybe this will shake up some loose change into the NASA program (on second thought the way the economy is going...) One of my friends is an Aero E and he's been cheering them on since he first heard of them.

Chewbenator

@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy-->:

There is a video. I just watched it.

[blog.wired.com]

+ Watch video

Recoil

@Chewbenator: Do private space launches fall under the FAA or NASA? If the latter, the only shake-ups at NASA will be the development of an extensive department of people reviewing paperwork to allow for the approval to process the request for a private launch.

I'd feel bad for the people working at "uncool" NASA...kind of like the Secret Service agents who spend all day trying to identify counterfeit bills.

Trystero

@icelight: That the Columbus expedition and the supersonic program were both government-funded must have slipped his mind as well.

Government is always bad.

Trystero

@chrism123:
Shooting rockets into space contributes to "helping each other" because we are opening up competition for space travel. Competition that will eventually get us colonies on the moon or on other planets. Competition that will allow us to establish a human presence in space and thereby unify the human race.

sugardeath

It's very easy to get past both NASA and the FAA - Just keep launching rockets from Kazakhstan.

Valicore

Time to tax the bejesus out of this "private" space flying BS. Next thing you know some Bin Laden will load a spaceship full of nuclear grade uranium and blow the moon up. PARANOIA-CHA-CHA-CHA.

Pretolo

Oh great, now we have private rocket companys adding to the orbiting junkyard.

wootsee

Only time will tell. NASA has a different mission. NASA carries PEOPLE into space and brings them back safely. You have to work to a different standard when you're carrying humans. 550 people can get a rocket with inanimate objects into space while piggybacking on the efforts of NASA up to this point because, while a setback, losing Scotty's ashes isn't that big of a deal. You lose Scotty, and that's a whole other ballgame.

Elvisisdead

@Elvisisdead: SpaceX is allowed at least one tragic accident that kills a few people... it's only fair.

Rabid Penguin

@Stang70Fastback: That's a very astute observation there.

-advanced biochemistry and materials
-first US-manned orbit
-the Space Shuttle program
-joint space program with multiple agencies
-let's see: the Moon?

iomatic

I don't know about you guys, but my only question is: When do they go IPO?

ripfire

@Elvisisdead: You do realize that NASA is simply piggybacking on the efforts of the Nazis, don't you?

jswilson64