Today, Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, posted a short update to the SpaceX web site stating that Falcon 1 is on the launch pad at Omelek in the Marshall Islands and is ready for a Thursday static fire test. A Sunday to Monday launch window has been reserved with the range. After the unsuccessful maiden flight of Falcon 1 last March, the urgency is elevated for SpaceX to perform this launch flawlessly. The silver lining of the unsuccessful maiden launch is that the risk of failure for this second launch is reduced, as SpaceX has gained experience both with its operations and the features of the rocket.
A successful launch will substantially reduce the remaining risk of failure of the overall SpaceX start-up. If the congress fully funds COTS (I am exercising caution on this score), SpaceX's biggest challenge will be executing on its ambitious schedule of rocket launches and hardware development. This schedule challenge isn't unique to SpaceX. Several other alt.space companies, such as Bigelow Aerospace and Scaled Composites, are setting ambitious schedules. We are watching private enterprise at work; they are all acutely aware of the time value of money.
Here's to a successful launch of the Falcon 1! I will be watching with great interest.
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