SpaceX's Dragon Module Successfully Re-Enters

Zitchas writes "Following the news of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon module on-board, and its arrival on orbit, we now have the news that is has successfully re-entered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific. As their website proudly claims, this is the first time a private corporation has recovered a spacecraft they orbited, joining the ranks of a few space nations and the EU space agency. A great step forward for space travel. Hopefully everything continues to go well for them."

not to rain on anyones parade..

[Vectormatic]

but wasnt this already reported in the launch thread? it only did two orbits, so the total flight time was a few hours.

Two days news turn-around is something one would expect from a news-paper in the good old telex days, not a website in 2010

Back on topic, awesome achievement! kudos to the SpaceX guys

Orbit? Check - Moon Mission? Mars?

[digitaldc]

Okay, we have proven we can orbit the Earth successfully for the past 37 years. NOW we have to move on to landing back on the Moon and Mars.

Whatever happened to our pioneering spirit in space? Are we just going to build un-manned shuttles and satellites for the next 50 years?

Our scientific missions seemed a lot more important and interesting on the moon with Apollo 17 in 1972. [wikimedia.org]

Re:not to rain on anyones parade..

[MirthScout]

I think it will take Slashdot at least 3 more days to report on the cheesey cargo in the Dragon capsule.

Re:Orbit? Check - Moon Mission? Mars?

[phrisbee98]

The achievements themselves (launch, orbit, reentry) are not nearly as significant as the COST to perform these operations. Apollo and the shuttle cost many billions to develop. This company developed 2 rockets, a capsule, launch operations and production lines for roughly $600 Million. Barring a major Earth catastrophe, cost reduction is the only way to accelerate our reach into the stars.

Re:Orbit? Check - Moon Mission? Mars?

[Zitchas]

The point, I think, is to get the government institutions (who are the ones who don't have to make money at things) OUT of the business of doing repetitious, potentially profitable things. Like putting satellites into orbit, doing ISS supply runs, and other generic things that are pretty much routine these days.

If they are barred from doing easy stuff, maybe they will take their budget where it is supposed to go: into exploration and the development of new things, things that the the private industry won't do because there is no profit there yet.