ISS Robotic Arm Captures Dragon Capsule 147
puddingebola writes "From the aricle, 'The SpaceX Dragon capsule has been successfully grabbed by the International Space Station, marking the first time a private American space flight has run a supply mission to the orbiting platform. The crew of the ISS snatched Dragon out of orbit ahead of schedule, using the space station's robotic arm to guide the capsule in after its careful approach.' NASA has also posted video of the docking."
Re:We need space exploration by any method possibl (Score:1, Interesting)
The issue is energy. Energy (required to reach orbit) is too expensive. The next human revolution will be free (or remarkably cheap) energy. Tesla claimed to have devised a way to capture the energy from the ionosphere. Consider a single lightning strike has enough power to run a 100 watt bulb for 2 months. There's also some promise in the solar and wind energy areas. There's insane amounts of energy all around us. Capturing a fraction of it (cheaply) will change our lives in unimaginable ways and make things like space travel for the common man possible.
Re:Video of the capture (Score:5, Interesting)
That video... sure isn't action-packed.
At first I thought I was watching a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Like 2001, this video is interesting but slow :)
Re:Second docking but first contracted supply miss (Score:4, Interesting)
It is not hard for me to see how SpaceX could make a good profit and still be cheaper than NASA. I suspect they don't have pensions on their budget. I suspect people work more than 40 hours a week, and without an expectation of overtime. I suspect they don't have 50-year-old facilities scattered throughout states in a way that only makes sense once you consider congressional districts. And finally, if they fail they go out of business. When NASA fails, the schedule slips. I have a feeling that given this incentive, they will manage risk differently...