SpaceX receives FAA certification for Dragon spacecraft

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the Hawthorne-based rocket venture better known as SpaceX, reached a milestone Monday: It received the Federal Aviation Administration's first-ever commercial license to reenter a spacecraft from Earth orbit.

The privately owned company needed the certification before its scheduled Dec. 7 maiden launch of the Dragon space capsule, which is being designed to carry cargo and crew for NASA.

The Dragon capsule is considered a contender for the job of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station after the space shuttle program is mothballed in 2011.

NASA has already awarded SpaceX $1.6 billion in contracts to transport cargo to the International Space Station on the Dragon, starting as early as next year.

"With this license in hand, SpaceX can proceed with its launch of the Dragon capsule,” NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said in a statement. “The flight of Dragon will be an important step toward commercial cargo delivery to the International Space Station.”

In next month’s test launch, the Dragon capsule will be affixed to SpaceX’s massive Falcon 9 rocket, which made its first flight in June from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Dragon capsule is expected to orbit the Earth, reenter the atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

The capsule has been undergoing drop tests over the Pacific near Morro Bay, Calif., 45 miles northwest of Vandenberg Air Force Base. Watch the video above.

SpaceX employs more than 1,100 people, most in California. The firm makes its rockets in a sprawling facility in Hawthorne that once housed the fuselage assembly for Boeing Co.'s 747 jumbo jet.

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SpaceX succesfully drop-tests Dragon capsule

SpaceX moves back launch date, raises $50 million

-- W.J. Hennigan

Video: SpaceX conducted the Dragon capsule high-altitude drop test Aug. 12, at an altitude of 14,000 feet, off the coast of Morro Bay, Calif.

SpaceX moves back launch date, raises $50 million

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the privately owned, Hawthorne-based rocket venture, bumped back the maiden launch of its Dragon spacecraft to carry out more testing.

The first flight of the capsule, which is being designed to carry cargo and crew for NASA, is now slated for Dec. 7. It had been scheduled for Nov. 20.

When it does blast off, it will be a crucial test for the company, better known as SpaceX. The Dragon capsule is considered to be a contender for the job of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station after the space shuttle program is mothballed in 2011.

NASA has already awarded SpaceX an additional $1.6 billion in contracts to transport cargo to the International Space Station on the Dragon, starting as early as next year.

In the test launch, the capsule will be launched on top of SpaceX’s massive Falcon 9 rocket. The nine-engine rocket made its maiden flight from a launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in June.

In addition, SpaceX revealed in a securities filing Tuesday that it raised $50 million in funding from investors.

SpaceX currently employs more than 1,100 people, mostly in California. The firm makes its rockets in a sprawling facility in Hawthorne that once housed the production line for Boeing's 747 jumbo jet.

-- W.J. Hennigan

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SpaceX shows it has the right stuff

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SpaceX opens office in Alabama to be 'part of Rocket City'

Photo: The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in June. Credit: Matt Stroshane / Getty Images

SpaceX opens office in Alabama to be 'part of Rocket City'

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. quietly opened a new office Thursday in Huntsville, Ala., dubbed "Rocket City" for its long history with U.S. space missions.

The company, better known as SpaceX, tried to keep the news under the radar, but it was revealed in an online press release by Huntsville Space Professionals, a nonprofit group that aims to put local unemployed aerospace professionals to work.

Kirstin Brost, a SpaceX spokeswoman, said the company didn't issue a release on the new office because it will be small, employing just a "handful" of workers.

"The location was chosen because of the proximity to key government partners and customers," she said. "We want to be part of 'Rocket City.'"

The office is in Cummings Research Park, a business park whose occupants include aerospace giants such as Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. It's near the U.S Army's Space and Missile Defense Command acquistion center and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

There is also a large, unemployed talent pool ready to be tapped, said Andrew Sutinen, director of Huntsville Space Professionals.

Sutinen estimated that about 900 Huntsville aerospace workers have been put out of work since President Obama announced the cancellation of the Constellation program, which would’ve put astronauts back on the moon by 2020, and sent NASA in a new direction.

SpaceX currently employs more than 1,100 people, most in California. The firm makes its rockets in a sprawling facility in Hawthorne that once housed the production line for Boeing's 747 jumbo jet.

The news comes just weeks before a key launch of its Dragon spacecraft, a cargo capsule that might one day carry astronauts into space, which is now slated for Nov. 18.

In June, SpaceX’s nine-engine rocket, the Falcon 9, made its maiden flight from a launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Elon Musk founded SpaceX after becoming a multimillionaire in Silicon Valley. He poured most of his personal fortune into the venture.

The Falcon 9 launch marked a major milestone in efforts to shift spacecraft development -- which has long been dominated by governments and large, established aerospace firms -- to privately funded start-ups.

In addition to the Hawthorne and Huntville locations, SpaceX has employees in Texas and Florida -- both NASA nerve centers.

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo: The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in June. Credit: Matt Stroshane / Getty Images

Investor Peter Thiel asks Silicon Valley: Where's the innovation?

When Peter Thiel speaks, Silicon Valley listens.

But Thiel, the head of Clarium Capital Management who was a founding investor in PayPal and Facebook, had a sobering message Monday at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference that some might not want to hear.

In an interview with TechCrunch's Sarah Lacy, Thiel, 42, argued that the high-tech gold rush that has skyrocketed valuations for Internet companies represents a sharp disconnect from the economic malaise that has blanketed much of the world, stagnating median wages and living conditions for most people just 30 miles outside of Silicon Valley.

The success of Internet ventures such as Facebook has blurred Silicon Valley's focus, leading to a dearth of futuristic technologies such as artificial intelligence, Thiel argued. Thiel invests in technology in three ways, through his hedge fund, his venture capital firm Founders Fund and as an individual.

“We need to ask ourselves more: How are we actually doing things to make the country and the world a better place in the next few decades?” he said.

Thiel urged entrepreneurs to solve hard technology problems by embracing science fiction goals from the heyday of the original “Star Trek” series, such as permanent lunar bases.

“We need to spend a lot more time focusing on breakthrough technologies that take our civilization to the next level,” Thiel said.

An example of such an investment for Thiel: Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company.

His sentiments echoed those of Daniel Lyons in a recent Newsweek piece.

Thiel, who is worth $1.1 billion according to Forbes, is still a big believer in Facebook, which he said continued to be undervalued. But, he said, he would be “a lot more careful” about investing in Facebook now.

He has steered clear of many Internet deals because he thinks the big winners in mobile applications will be the established Internet players, not fresh-faced entrepreneurs coming up with major innovation. “The Yelp of cellphones will be Yelp, the Google of cellphones will be Google,” he said.

“It’s quite possible that the Internet is at a much more mature stage than people realize,” Thiel said.

Thiel, who sits on Facebook’s board, made a prescient bet on Facebook as its first angel investor in 2003. That bet, a $500,000 investment, paid off with the company now worth as much as $34 billion. (In a separate interview with Fox Business network, Thiel confirmed that Facebook would not explore an initial public offering until 2012). Thiel said Facebook continues to innovate because its founder Mark Zuckerberg is a product visionary on par with Apple’s Steve Jobs.

To reach out to the Zuckerbergs of this generation, Thiel announced he has launched a new “20 Under 20” program that will give grants to up to 20 students younger than 20 who are interested in science and technology start-ups. Students can apply for the 2011 program until the end of this year, either individually or in teams of up to four.

Thiel said he is not encouraging students to drop out of school, but to “stop out” of school.

-- Jessica Guynn

SpaceX teams with EADS to go after European launch contracts

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. already counts the U.S. government as a key customer. Now it's hoping to land rocket launch contracts with European governments.

The Hawthorne-based company, better known as SpaceX, announced Thursday that it would work with EADS Astrium to market launch services to an array of European space agencies through 2015. The deal is for Astrium to market SpaceX’s single-engine Falcon 1 rocket, which can lift small payloads into low-Earth orbit.

SpaceX says it can develop and launch rockets at a fraction of the cost of the current generation of spacecraft. It is hoping that Astrium, a subsidiary of the French-and-German-owned European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, also the parent of Airbus, can sell that message overseas.

"I am proud that such a prominent European leader in space transportation, satellite systems and services would choose to team with SpaceX," said Elon Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, in a statement. "Our agreement with Astrium opens exciting new doors for SpaceX.” 

The Falcon 1 is SpaceX’s smaller rocket. The company’s larger, nine-engine booster, the Falcon 9, successfully made its maiden flight in June. SpaceX plans to blast it into space again later this year with a cargo capsule, dubbed the Dragon, fixed atop. 

NASA has already awarded SpaceX $1.6 billion in contracts for the Falcon 9 and Dragon to transport cargo to the International Space Station, starting as early as next year.

SpaceX hopes that the Dragon might one day carry astronauts into space after the space shuttle program is retired in 2011.

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo: A Falcon 1 rocket rises from SpaceX's launch complex in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Kwajalein Atoll

SpaceX succesfully drop-tests Dragon capsule

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s Dragon spacecraft, a cargo capsule that might one day carry astronauts into space, was successful in its first high-altitude drop test, the company said Friday.

The drop occurred Aug. 12 about 9 miles off the coast near Morro Bay, or 45 miles north of Vandenberg Air Force Base. Watch the video here.

The Hawthorne company, better known as SpaceX, said the purpose of the test was to make sure the Dragon's parachute deployment systems and recovery operations worked properly.

According to SpaceX, the Dragon spacecraft was dropped from a helicopter at 14,000 feet hovering over a Pacific Ocean test zone. Three main parachutes, each 116 feet in diameter, stabilized the craft, slowing its descent to about 16 to 18 feet per second for a “very soft landing.”

Achieving a smooth landing is crucial for SpaceX, which is considered to be a contender for the job of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station after the Space Shuttle program is mothballed in 2011. The Dragon will transport cargo to the station for NASA starting next year, but it was also designed to carry a crew.

"We are proving, every day, that the future of American missions to space will rely on American made commercial companies," Elon Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, said in a statement.

SpaceX successfully launched its 18-story Falcon 9 rocket in June. It plans to blast the Dragon into space atop the rocket this year.

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo Credit: SpaceX

Falcon 9 rocket makes landmark flight

A rocket, developed by Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp., made its maiden flight Friday, boosting prospects for privately funded space vehicles to one day take astronauts and cargo into orbit.

The nine-engine Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 11:45 a.m. PDT after several earlier attempts were aborted because of technical anomalies. 

The booster is a major contender to assume NASA's responsibilities in hauling astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station in the wake of President Obama's budget proposal to outsource space travel to private businesses.

NASA has invested more than $200 million in seed money to help the company develop and build the rocket, and has an additional $1.6 billion on the table with a contract for 12 flights to transport cargo in the coming years.

Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX after making a fortune in Silicon Valley, had said in a pre-launch  teleconference Thursday that he estimated the chances at 70% to 80%. SpaceX's first rocket -- the smaller, single-engine Falcon 1 -- failed three times before it carried a satellite into space."This is very much a test flight of the Falcon 9," Musk said. "It's analogous to sort of the beta testing of some new technology.”

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo: The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off of pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: Matt Stroshane / Getty Images

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket set for maiden launch [Updated]

The Falcon 9 rocket, developed by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is slated for its maiden flight Friday morning.

The Hawthorne-based company, also known as SpaceX, could launch the nine-engine rocket from Cape Canaveral as early as 8 a.m. Pacific time. It will be webcast on the SpaceX website.

The booster is a major contender to assume NASA's responsibilities in hauling astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station in the wake of President Obama's budget proposal to outsource space travel to private businesses.

NASA has invested more than $200 million in seed money to help the company develop and build the rocket, and has an additional $1.6 billion on the table with a contract for 12 flights to transport cargo in the coming years.

But Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, knows that a successful launch is no sure thing. In a teleconference Thursday morning, he estimated the chances at 70% to 80%.

SpaceX's first rocket -- the smaller, single-engine Falcon 1 -- failed three times before it carried a satellite into space.

"This is very much a test flight of the Falcon 9," Musk said. "It's analogous to sort of the beta testing of some new technology.”

[Updated Friday, 7:45 a.m.: Launch has been bumped back to 8:20 a.m. Pacific time due to weather.]

[Updated Friday, 8:35 a.m.: Launch has been put on "hold" for an undisclosed amount of time. No details have been given on the reason for the delay.]

[Updated Friday, 10:15 a.m.: Launch is now set for 10:30 a.m.]

[Updated Friday, 10:40 a.m.: First attempt for launch aborted. Again, no reason given. SpaceX's launch window extends to 12 p.m., so a launch is still possible.]

[Updated Friday, 11:35 a.m.: New launch time is set for 11:45 a.m.]

-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo: Falcon 9 on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX inks first major commercial rocket launch deal [Updated]

SpaceX Falcon 9 on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX

In a major boost to development of privately funded rockets, Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has signed a deal to launch a commercial satellite for Loral Space & Communications Inc.'s space system unit.

Up until now, the company, also known as SpaceX, had relied mainly on government contracts for its rocket to lift payloads into space. It won its first major commercial contract even though it has had only a single successful rocket launch.

[Updated 3:42 p.m.: The headline and text of an earlier version of this post said SpaceX's deal with Loral was its first commercial contract. SpaceX has won smaller commercial contracts.]

“This is a big step for the company,” said Carissa Bryce Christensen, managing partner with the Tauri Group, an analytic consulting firm in Alexandria, Va. “To be part of the launch backbone of the country, and the world, you have to demonstrate that you can serve the commercial customer.”

The 180-foot-tall rocket that will boost the satellite into orbit, the Falcon 9, is still unproven. SpaceX expects to launch the rocket for the first time as early as April. It is currently upright at Cape Canaveral undergoing testing.

The nine-engine booster is a major contender to assume NASA's responsibilities in hauling astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station in the wake of President Obama's budget proposal to outsource space travel to private businesses.

SpaceX currently has a $1.6-billion contract for 12 flights to transport 20 tons of cargo to the space station for NASA through 2016. The company was started by PayPal Inc. co-founder Elon Musk.

"With numerous Falcon 9 launches on their manifest over the next two years, we are assured of a successful flight history in advance of our mission," John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral's satellite unit, said in a statement.

According to the two companies, the launch will take place as early as 2012.

-- W.J. Hennigan