Sep 29, 2023 02:48 AM
15 years ago today, SpaceX launched their first successful orbital rocket, a Falcon 1 from a tiny island in the Kwajelein atoll[/url] out in the remote Pacific. The company was tiny then and only had enough of Elon's money (that he got from selling his share of Paypal) for four of the early Falcon 1's.
The first three tries failed. They just had their last rocket left and if it had failed, then the whole thing would have been bankrupt. But it succeeded as the first totally private (both company and funding) rocket ever to reach orbit. NASA liked what they saw and gave them a CRS commercial resupply contract to send cargo to the Space Station and that saved them. (All the stuff about how SpaceX and NASA are enemies is false, SX wouldn't exist today if NASA hadn't supported them.)
They developed the reusable Dragon supply capsules along with the much bigger Falcon 9, eventually succeeded not only in landing it but landing it repeatedly and routinely, flew astronauts safely in their Crew Dragons, and they haven't looked back since. Now the goal is the Moon, Mars and the rest of the Solar System.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1707518489584660992
The first three tries failed. They just had their last rocket left and if it had failed, then the whole thing would have been bankrupt. But it succeeded as the first totally private (both company and funding) rocket ever to reach orbit. NASA liked what they saw and gave them a CRS commercial resupply contract to send cargo to the Space Station and that saved them. (All the stuff about how SpaceX and NASA are enemies is false, SX wouldn't exist today if NASA hadn't supported them.)
They developed the reusable Dragon supply capsules along with the much bigger Falcon 9, eventually succeeded not only in landing it but landing it repeatedly and routinely, flew astronauts safely in their Crew Dragons, and they haven't looked back since. Now the goal is the Moon, Mars and the rest of the Solar System.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1707518489584660992