Early Lessons of SpaceX's Falcon 9

In what I suspect is another good omen for a decidedly space/Twitter filled weekend the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on its first successful launch, today at 2:45pm EST. Not only was it a successful launch but both the first and second stages worked as expected and the Falcon 9 was able to put the mocked-up Dragon capsule into orbit. Going into the launch many had expected that reaching orbit was a very lofty goal for the first ever launch of a never before launched vehicle. Congratulations are in order to the entire SpaceX team for such an impressive first test flight. It seems to me this bodes very well indeed for the future of completely independent commercial launch services. 

To be sure it was a day of learning many new things. This was a vehicle that had never flown before it wasn't a Delta IV or a Shuttle this was something completely new. We learned about the importance of things like FTS aka "flight termination system." Not many people realize it but every rocket that lifts off from the cape (including the manned Shuttle) includes an explosives package so that in the event of a failure the Air Force can explode any errant rockets before the land in downtown Orlando. Then we waited for some boats that had wandered into the safety zone to make their way back out. SpaceX commentary was very tight-lipped and Twitter and the KSC scanner feeds served at primary information sources. We also learned that the cape needs a lot more bandwidth, the webcast struggled to keep up with demand.

Beyond learning lots of new things about a new vehicle I was struck in particular by two things. First, during an interview Elon Musk (founder Paypal, Tesla, SpaceX) mentioned in regards to what SpaceX was about to go and do that this was something "only a few countries have done." Think about that for a minute countries, until today launching things into orbit was something that had only been achieved by entire nations* as the result of several billion dollars, tens of thousands of people, and decades of R&D. Today SpaceX a privately held company with a 1000 or so employees and a couple hundred million dolars accomplished that same feat. Make no mistake it is not to be overlooked, a change is coming, there will be setbacks for sure but this was something different, the first hint that a different model may yet exist. A lesson, of today I think is that sure SpaceX is one company but it still takes a tremendous amount of coordination by several different groups and organizations to launch something into space and do it safely with success. Regardless of who's operating it's a feat which should never be taken for granted.

Lastly as I watched some pretty amazing views of the launch of this new vehicle I was struck by the level of emotion I experienced. I've been critical of commercial space and SpaceX's seemingly endless pushing back of the launch up to this point. I'll admit part of me I dunno felt like I was cheating on NASA and the Shuttle a bit be being emotional over a "commercial" launch, but why? Why can't some company do it, why does it have to be any less cool or momentous if they do? I won't say I'm all the way there but as I watched Falcon 9 rise from the pad and then the first stage separate and you could see the Earth behind I did tear up a bit. This surprised me, sure I'll tear up when the Shuttle launches but that's different that's a patriotic thing and the Shuttle is an old friend. This was something new, but I think perhaps that's the point... what struck me was the uniqueness of what I was seeing, the newness, this is something different and it heralds a great deal of potential.

In the end though I had the thought, "Lesson: space is cool no matter how we get there?" Perhaps that is the whole point of this new era we are supposedly moving towards, we have an emotional bond with the Shuttle because it is that old friend, it's all we've known, but going forward is it really about the vehicle? Perhaps the next chapter of spaceflight is not about how we get there, but where we go. The jury is still out but today the defense made a heck of an opening statement.

Once again Congratulations to SpaceX and their entire team and everyone who supported their launch today! 

* Yes I know Boeing/Lockheed/ULA but those are part of the military industrial complex supported by taxpayer defense dollars.