SpaceX success saluted
Today’s successful maiden flight of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket won praise from several quarters:
* NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the launch had historic significance: “These new explorers are to spaceflight what Lindbergh was to commercial aviation.” In a separate blog posting and video, he said the emergence of a strong commercial space industry was “one of the most exciting things taking place” at the space agency: “Successful launch, orbit and intact re-entry have been accomplished by only a few nations to date. The SpaceX mission today is the first time an entrepreneurial enterprise has joined this very elite company of spacefaring entities.” * The Associated Press quoted Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat and former space shuttle flier, as saying: “We’ve arrived at the dawn of a new era of U.S. space exploration that should ensure America remains a leader in space exploration.” Space station commander Scott Kelly was quoted as saying he’d gladly fly on a commercial spacecraft “if that’s the path we’re proceeding on.”
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* The Commercial Spaceflight Federation provided a series of congratulatory quotes, including a comment from the federation’s president, Bretton Alexander: “It’s the beginning of a paradigm shift from a government human spaceflight architecture to one that opens up human spaceflight to the private sector.” * Planetary Society Executive Director Bill Nye said “Falcon 9 nailed it,” and noted that the launch represented another step toward commercial ventures that can help NASA carry supplies and astronauts to low Earth orbit. “Bold endeavours like this will advance the chances for success for everyone in the Earth-orbit business.” * Space Frontier Foundation co-founder Rick Tumlinson said: “This flight will go down in history as a turning point for the opening of space to regular people. It may not be Yuri Gagarin, but it is certainly the equivalent of Sputnik for commercial spaceflight.”
URL: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/08/5615166-spacex-success-saluted