SpaceX CRS-6 Almost Sticks a Perfect Landing

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft successfully carried more than 4,300 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station. A second feat of rocket science was attempted in the landing of the 1st stage of the Falcon 9 rocket on a platform in the ocean.

It was impressively close.

It's important to remember that the ascent part is still a magnificent achievement - those that might be tempted into thinking it's become routine need only to look at the recent Orbital Sciences explosion. The landing, however, would have been an exciting first for humanity.

If SpaceX can perfect this move, they will be able to reuse their rockets, rather than building a new one each time. Such an advancement would dramatically lower the cost of flying cargo (and people) into space.

Below is another angle of footage, this time it was filmed by a chaser plane - in slow-motion HD.

Check it out:

From SpaceX's website:

The odds of success are not great—perhaps 50% at best. However this test represents the first in a series of similar tests that will ultimately deliver a fully reusable Falcon 9 first stage.

Returning anything from space is a challenge, but returning a Falcon 9 first stage for a precision landing presents a number of additional hurdles. At 14 stories tall and traveling upwards of 1300 m/s (nearly 1 mi/s), stabilizing the Falcon 9 first stage for reentry is like trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm.

In the end, perhaps it's for the best that Elon Musk didn't stick his landing. His current twitter profile photo looks an awful lot like Dr. Evil. Plus there's this tweet remarking about the Falcon 9 landing.

If this works, I'm treating myself to a volcano lair. It's time.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2015

Joking about being an evil genius is the sort of thing an evil genius might do. Isn't it?

Google to Invest $1 Billion in SpaceX

Google is in the final stages of investing in SpaceX to create an internet-beaming satellite constellation, as first reported by The Information. While the deal is still in the works, the apparent aim is to support the development of SpaceX satellites that will beam low-cost Internet around the globe --- connecting billions more people.

"The price and terms Google and SpaceX are discussing couldn’t be learned although one person familiar with them said Google has agreed to value SpaceX north of $10 billion and that the size of the total round, which includes other investors, is very large." writes Jessica E. Lessin

While SpaceX continually makes headline with its bold advancements, they have not taken on a big primary round of investment in many years. SpaceX’s current investors include Founders Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Valor Equity Partners.

Elon Musk spoke about SpaceX's plans for the satellite-enabled Internet system last week in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek , which described the program as "hugely ambitious."

Hundreds of satellites would orbit about 750 miles above earth, much closer than traditional communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit at altitudes of up to 22,000 miles. The lower satellites would make for a speedier Internet service, with less distance for electromagnetic signals to travel. The lag in current satellite systems makes applications such as Skype, online gaming, and other cloud-based services tough to use. Musk’s service would, in theory, rival fiber optic cables on land while also making the Internet available to remote and poor regions that don’t have access.

SpaceX to Boldly Attempt Falcon 9 Rocket Landing

As if launching something into space wasn't challenging enough, SpaceX is now about to try to do the reverse process - landing a rocket so that it can be used again. Elon Musk wants to land a Falcon 9 on a small platform in the Atlantic Ocean. The bold experiment, scheduled for launching next week, is a calculated move towards reducing the high costs of space exploration. The company admits that "The odds of success are not great -- perhaps 50% at best.  This test represents the first in a series of similar tests that will ultimately deliver a fully reusable Falcon 9 first stage."

Since the Falcon 9 is roughly 14 stories tall, trying to control the rocket's re-entry would be "like trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm." SpaceX said.  SpaceX is targeting a landing accuracy of within 10 meters.

"A fully and rapidly reusable rocket -- which has never been done before -- is the pivotal breakthrough needed to substantially reduce the cost of space access," SpaceX said on its website. "While most rockets are designed to burn up on re-entry, SpaceX is building rockets that not only withstand re-entry, but also land safely on Earth to be refueled and fly again."

If SpaceX can successfully land the rocket, it will have developed a way to reuse rockets in subsequent flights, drastically reducing waste and the overall cost of space exploration. This is in stark contrast with the current status quo model where rockets spend their fuel and subsequently crash into the sea as garbage.

 For years, Musk, who is also the chief executive of Tesla Motors, has been working on a way to land and reuse rockets. In two previous launches this year, the company completed soft landings in the ocean that hovered over the water before toppling over.

“If one can figure out how to effectively reuse rockets just like airplanes, the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much as a factor of a hundred.  A fully reusable vehicle has never been done before. That really is the fundamental breakthrough needed to revolutionize access to space.”

--Elon Musk

The Falcon 9 flight was originally scheduled to launch in December but was delayed after a test firing of the rocket engines did not go precisely as planned. The company conducted additional tests last week that were successful. Jan. 7 is the backup date should the scheduled Jan. 6 launch get pushed back.

Earlier this year, SpaceX, along with Boeing, won a NASA contract to fly astronauts to the International Space Station.

Read more at spacex.com

Kimbal Musk Interview-Everything But The Kitchen Sink

Kimbal Musk discusses:

• Starting The Kitchen
• Space X
• The Learning Gardens 
• His secret to success

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Kimbal:

Starting a company and making it successful is like chewing glass and looking into the abyss. It is the hardest thing you could ever do.

My joke is; if not for the physical trauma, I highly recommend a psychological awakening.

If you do something you love, there is no such thing as failure.

Okay Startup People~  We want to hear from you! Are you doing work you love? Does it feel like chewing a glass sandwich? Can you relate to Kimbal's advice?  What's the best bit of advice you've ever heard?

If you enjoyed this interview, please share it with your friends & colleagues and make sure to check out lots of other great interviews and articles on our blog. www.Icosa.co