On Omelek Island in the Pacific Ocean, a former US military base, SpaceX launched their maiden rocket attempt there in 2006.
Despite the craft’s $7 million price tag, its rocket engines failed 30 seconds after liftoff, sending the chunk of metal crashing down to Earth and slamming 200 yards offshore.
SpaceX’s Turbulent Journey from Failure to Triumph
After 7 minutes of flight, SpaceX’s second attempt in 2007 likewise ended in failure.
The SpaceX guy with the orange Mohawk wasn’t seen to be the greatest candidate to handle its mission control, according to military advisors who were observing the company’s activities and wondering about the corporate culture.
They weren’t impressed by the beer and alcohol that SpaceX engineers discovered hidden all over the place, nor by the inebriated SpaceX employee who raced naked across the launch pad while attempting (futilely) to get thrown off that hot isle.
Nonetheless, SpaceX’s Falcon 1 managed to enter orbit on its third attempt in September 2008.
Countries have historically dominated space because they are the only organizations with the resources and manpower to devote years and money to the construction of rockets large enough to enter orbit.
However, some people thought that access to space would be improved by recent technological developments in consumer goods like computers and smartphones.
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Affordable Space Exploration and Earth Observation
One among them was NASA’s Ames Research Center’s Pete Worden, who was dissatisfied with the company’s out-of-date thinking.
In order to purchase an off-the-shelf smartphone, blast it into orbit, and see if it would stay on long enough to snap some images and relay them back to Earth, his team successfully developed PhoneSAT in 2009.
It was successful, costing only $3,000, and launched on a home-built rocket, avoiding NASA’s customary million-dollar charges and brief 18-month wait period.
Several businesses jumped into action following SpaceX’s accomplishment.
In order to launch smaller, less expensive satellites that could snap images of every location on Earth every day, Planet Labs was established in 2010.
This allowed the company to monitor military movements, extensive deforestation, and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
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