So as some of you know, SpaceX recently launched it's third Falcon 1 rocket aimed at reaching orbit. Now I did not work on this particular rocket, having started just 2 months ago, but I am working on the next rocket, Flight 004.
Flight 003 did not reach orbit (CEO's message here), failing because of unexpected residual thrust in the 1st stage engine interfering with stage separation. This was a new engine design that could not have been tested in the true vacuum of space until that moment, and there we learned something. Plus, there's a fabulous video:
http://spacex.com/multimedia/videos.php?id=13
With 3 failed launches, SpaceX is still ahead of the game compared to most if not all space programs in history. How many rockets did we fail wondering if Russia would beat us to the moon? However, the catch is that we're trying to do commercially what entire governments have pooled resources to do as a country, so we kinda have to be on top of our game. That's what working at SpaceX is like. It's like the excitement of the whole US-Russia space race all over again.
Our CEO, and indeed, all of us, have made a public declaration to fix the problem, assemble another rocket, and launch flight 004 very quickly. And this time, my project will be on that rocket.
It's gonna be a busy couple of months folks. Stay tuned for more updates, and expect find me looking skyward.
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