Guest
04-17-2011, 09:09 PM
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2011/04/15/11.xml&headline=China%20Great%20Wall%20Confounded%20By%20 SpaceX%20Prices
In short, China can't believe that SpaceX, Elon Musk's company, can lauch as much as they can launch as cheaply as they say.
SpaceX just announced the details of their new heavy-lift vehicle, Falcon Heavy, and how much it will cost. Suffice to say it SERIOUSLY undercuts the existing players. The Falcon and Falcon 9 rockets are flying successfully. They've also had their Dragon capsule launched and successfully recovered after splashdown - the first private company on Earth to ever accomplish that.
I've been following these guys for a long time and I have to say I'm a huge fan of theirs. Elon Musk made his money by making PayPal and then selling it to eBay. He then took that money and made SpaceX - a company that now has contracts with NASA to supply cargo to the International Space Station. Oh - and while he was at it, he also started Tesla Motors - the only company putting out an all-electric sports car (high-perfrmance, 200 mile range for something north of $100K) with their 4-door sedan coming out in a couple of years.
In short, China can't believe that SpaceX, Elon Musk's company, can lauch as much as they can launch as cheaply as they say.
SpaceX just announced the details of their new heavy-lift vehicle, Falcon Heavy, and how much it will cost. Suffice to say it SERIOUSLY undercuts the existing players. The Falcon and Falcon 9 rockets are flying successfully. They've also had their Dragon capsule launched and successfully recovered after splashdown - the first private company on Earth to ever accomplish that.
I've been following these guys for a long time and I have to say I'm a huge fan of theirs. Elon Musk made his money by making PayPal and then selling it to eBay. He then took that money and made SpaceX - a company that now has contracts with NASA to supply cargo to the International Space Station. Oh - and while he was at it, he also started Tesla Motors - the only company putting out an all-electric sports car (high-perfrmance, 200 mile range for something north of $100K) with their 4-door sedan coming out in a couple of years.