In a mission lasting just three hours and 20 minutes from lift-off to splashdown, the massive Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon capsule, designed and built by SpaceX, were the stars of the show

December 8, a great day for the Californiabased company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), might ultimately turn out to be a giant leap in the stirring saga of space exploration. In a mission lasting just three hours and twenty minutes from lift-off to splashdown, the massive Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon capsule, designed and built by SpaceX, were the stars of the show. This was the first time a private corporation had successfully launched a rocket and space capsule into low earth orbit (LEO) and guided the capsule through a safe re-entry and return to earth. Since the world’s first space launch—Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, this is a feat that only five nations plus one multi-government agency have achieved: the Soviet Union/Russia, the United States of America, China, India, Japan and the European Space Agency.

Governments have had a monopoly over the final frontier until now, and with good reason. Huge risks, astronomical outlays and uncertain returns have so far made space launches unattractive to private industry. But now many governments, especially those in the developed world, are strapped for cash and seem only too keen for private entrepreneurs to foot at least part of the bill. A number of companies are getting ready to venture into space. They will introduce some much-needed competition, which means lower prices and more choices for the customer.

SpaceX—the Spearhead

The US space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), currently depends on the space shuttle and the reliable Russian Soyuz craft to deliver supplies and crew to the International Space Station (ISS). But only a couple of launches remain this year before the shuttle is retired for good; then NASA will be entirely reliant on Soyuz. Dragon’s successful mission is a step towards decreasing this galling dependency. It was the first demonstration under NASA’s commercial orbital transportation services (COTS) programme, which is aimed at spurring growth in the commercial space industry and promoting a viable private space cargo industry. In a deal valued at $1.6 billion (Rs. 7,200 crore), NASA has contracted for 12 cargo flights from SpaceX. The commercial rival of SpaceX, Orbital Sciences Corporation, also has a $1.9 billion (Rs. 8,750 crore) deal with NASA for eight missions, and plans the first flight test of its Taurus II rocket and Cygnus capsule in May or June 2011.

Success is still sweet and failure all too common in the high-stakes space industry, but Falcon 9 performed flawlessly. Its first stage, powered by nine of SpaceX’s proprietary Merlin rocket motors burning liquid oxygen and kerosene, blasted the 48-metre-tall rocket off the launch pad. The first stage burnt for three minutes before being jettisoned; then the second stage, a single Merlin rocket, cut in. Nine minutes after lift-off, the second stage shut down and separated from the Dragon capsule. The Dragon was successfully placed in a 300-km circular orbit inclined at 34.5 degrees to the Equator. After two orbits of the earth, the Dragon fired its thrusters and later deployed its large parachutes to slow down to a descent rate of about eight metres per second. It made its splashdown in the Pacific a few hundred kilometres off the coast of southern California within 800 metres of its designated spot and within a minute of the target time. This flight, which was only the second for the Falcon 9, tested the spacecraft’s propulsion, navigation, control and communications systems and precision landing technique, as also the efficacy of its heat shield, which is critical for its survival during reentry. The only payload that the Dragon had carried, as revealed later, was French cheese.

Besides cheese, SpaceX hopes to prove that its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule constitute an unbeatable combination to safely and cost-effectively deliver crew and cargo to the ISS. The unmanned version of the Dragon can carry 5,987 kg of cargo in its pressurised and unpressurised cargo bays. To view this capability in perspective, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been working on its geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) for many years. Yet GSLV, currently, ISRO’s heaviest launch vehicle, can inject a payload of just 5,100 kg to LEO.

SpaceX plans its next launch before the middle of the year—a five-day mission during which the Dragon will approach within 10 kilometres of the orbiting ISS to prove the accuracy of its rendezvous sensors. If all goes well (and NASA permits) it may even berth with the station. The first operational cargo flight to the station is slated for November 2011, with regular flights following on at three to four month intervals.

Further ahead, SpaceX believes its Dragon capsule could ferry astronauts within three years of being tasked to make the conversion—time necessary to add an escape system and other safety measures, besides more testing and data analysis. The Dragon has room for up to seven astronauts. Once the space shuttle retires, Dragon will be the only spacecraft capable of returning humans to Earth apart from the Soyuz. Europe’s proposed automated transfer vehicle (ATV), Japan’s H-2 transfer vehicle (HTV) and Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Cygnus capsule will only deliver cargo.