

Launch of Elon Musk's Private Rocket Fails; Three Satellites Were Onboard - danw
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/science/space/03launchweb.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin

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tlrobinson
It's amusing how many tech entrepreneurs use their fortunes for space
exploration.

Paul Allen invested in SpaceShipOne. Charles Simonyi paid millions to go to
space. Sergey Brin invested in a space tourism company. Larry Page is on the
board of trustees for X PRIZE. John Carmack has a aerospace/space tourism
startup. And of course Elon Musk.

Am I forgetting anyone?

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quickpost
Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Origin>

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jsmcgd
Mark Shuttleworth, second space tourist.

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jedc
That's too bad. I really want to see them succeed, but it's a whole series of
difficult engineering problems.

I'm glad to hear they've got cash to keep them going for a while, but they
need to start racking up successes soon.

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bprater
And it took the Wright Brothers how long to pitch that bucket of sticks and
cloth into the sky?

I'm confident the crew will work the kinks out and we'll look back at this
phase as "humbled beginnings".

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pmorici
So, do the customers get their money back? Why would any company rely on a yet
to be successful rocket to launch them into space?

Don't get me wrong it's a cool idea but wouldn't you want some reasonable
assurance of success ie: past success before you forked over your cash?

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ashwinl
"Why would any company rely on a yet to be successful rocket to launch them
into space?"

2 of the 3 payloads, PreSat and NanoSail-D, were paid for by NASA.

With NASA retiring the shuttle in a 2010, the Falcon rockets are looked upon
as the next generation of rockets before NASA's Constellation program begins
in 2014.

Bottom line: NASA is re-positioning itself to help private industry succeed
even if the risks are high.

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ashwinl
PreSat - <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/PRESat.html>

NanoSail-D - <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/nanosaild.html>

