2008十大航天新闻揭晓 A Momentous Year in Spaceflight
发布: 2008-12-28 11:36 | 作者: webmaster | 来源: 本站原创 | 查看: 54次
“猎鹰1”号火箭于今年9月发射升空
9月，太空探索技术公司(SpaceX)成功将“猎鹰1”号火箭发射升空，标志着该公司为把第一枚私人火箭射入太空而进行的长达6年的努力取得成功。3次发射尝试接连失败后，“猎鹰1”号成功飞入太空大大出乎人们的意料。这种液体燃料助推器从太平洋夸贾林岛发射升空，证明了太空探索技术公司的设计非常合理，同时也证明了该公司正在逐步实现其提供低价商业火箭发射服务的目标。该公司研发和试验这个助推器花费了大约1亿美元，但是未来进行太空飞行的这种火箭可能仅需800万美元或者更少。太空探索技术公司现在正计划从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角发射更大的猎鹰9号火箭。该公司是在23日取得美国宇航局的空间站货运合同的两家公司之一。
5. Privately-developed Falcon 1 rocket finally reaches orbit
In a major milestone, the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) firm successfully launched its Falcon 1 rocket in September, capping off the company's six-year effort to lift the first non-governmental rocket into space. Arriving on the heels of three consecutive failed launch attempts, the Falcon 1's success was no foregone conclusion. The liquid-fueled booster's liftoff from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean proved that SpaceX's engineering is sound, and the company is on its way toward fulfilling its goal of offering low-cost commercial rocket launches. It took about $100 million to develop and test the booster, but future flights should carry an $8 million price tag or less, the company said. SpaceX is now preparing to launch its larger Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and is one of two firms to win a NASA space station cargo contract on Tuesday.
