SpaceX's Falcon 1 Destroyed During Maiden Voyage

legolas writes "SpaceX's Falcon 1 is the world's first privately funded satellite launch vehicle. After a successful static engine test on Wednesday, it was launched today. Unfortunately, the rocket was destroyed shortly after launch."

Impact or RSO destroyed?

[sconeu]

Anyone know if it crashed or the RSO destroyed it?

Of course, it's never a good thing when your downward-pointing cam shows sky and clouds - spinning...

"partially reusable rocket"

[ds_job]

That will be reusable as in "We are all reused parts of supernovae" or "We all have a billion atoms of Julius Caesar's body incorporated into our own" and not "Just pick it up , dust it off and we're ready to go again!"

On the bright side...

[moochfish]

Now it's the world's first privately funded satellite crater.

Woohoo!

[MyLongNickName]

I've got two tickets for the maiden flight of Falcon 2! I guess this means I should get my ride soon, huh?

Re:I had wondered...

[Intron]

Just as bizarre was that they had a payload on their first launch attempt. That's like trying to ship the Beta! That would never happen in software.

Re:First flight with a paying customer?!

[Donut2099]

State Farm Rocket Insurance, obviously.

Re:Woohoo!

[Kjella]

I've got two tickets for the maiden flight of Falcon 2! I guess this means I should get my ride soon, huh?

Sure. It's not like you'll request a refund or anything.

Geeze, not like it's rocket science or anything

[Anonymous Coward]

Ok, so it IS rocket science. Still, kind of strange that my feed blipped out with 5 seconds to go before laungh.

Zefram Cochrane: Be of Good Cheer!

[Anonymous Coward]

2063 is the year that Zefram Cochrane [startrek.com] will finally succeed at creating the first warp drive. The present failure of SpaceX does not mean the end of space exploration. Rather, SpaceX is merely 1 stepping stone on the 60-year path to the ultimate development of warp drive. Be of good cheer, fellow earthlings!

See you in 2063!

-Yoda

Re:Apparently

[MS-06FZ]

Call it "Star Wars". People like Star Wars, so they'll like SDI more if it's called by that name.

Name change?

[Skiron]

Perhaps they should have called it 'Vista'.

Obligatory Chuck Norris comment

[atari2600]

Unconfirmed reports state that Chuck Norris was seen leaving the scene of the accident with a blow-pipe in his left hand.

Re:Zefram Cochrane: Be of Good Cheer!

[Anonymous Coward]

Meesa thinking youssa confused. Yoda eesa Star Wars, not Star Trek!

Re:Woohoo!

[MyLongNickName]

Hey! My wife bought the tickets for me. For some reason, though, she isn't able to come with me that day. Said something about this being less expensive than a lawyer. Not sure what she meannt by that.... but I digress.

How could I possibly return the tickets?

Re:I had wondered...

[NMerriam]

you may as well launch something useful rather than a dumb telemetry package.

I am a telemetry package, you insensitive clod!

Re:Obligatory Chuck Norris comment

[FleaPlus]

When did we start this Chuck Norris meme?

Probably about the time this site started up:

http://www.4q.cc/index.php?pid=top100&person=chuck [4q.cc]

A few samples:

Chuck Norris once visited the Virgin Islands. They are now The Islands.

Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting implies the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.

Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

Chuck Noris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".

If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.

Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.

When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes ever.

Chuck Norris thought up some of the funniest Chuck Norris facts ever, but he hasn't submitted them to the site because he doesn't believe in any form of submission.

Re:"partially reusable rocket"

[Kadin2048]

That was the sound of the joke flying right over your head ... until you cut its thrust off and it fell back to Earth in a heap of burning un-funnyness.

Re:Plume

[Penguinshit]

I thought flames were supposed to come from Anonymous Cowards...

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Early days

[XxtraLarGe]

Yet ten years later, the U.S. astronauts walked on the moon.

Or did they? [wikipedia.org] ;-)

Re:Impact or RSO destroyed?

[Pike]

It's probably just like in that great volume of prophecy, the Tintin book Destination Moon [wikipedia.org]! In which a foreign power overpowered the rocket's control radio signal with a more powerful signal, with a view to stealing the rocket and its secrets. Luckily Tintin and Calculus put a device on the rocket that allowed them to blow it up remotely before anyone else could get their hands on it. Probably a similar situation here.

Re:Space Aint Cheap

[AndrewSmith1969]

Qinetic are about to test fire a £1 million scramjet directly into the ground. If it works it will fire for 6 seconds before it hits earth at mach 7.

You see, this is the British way of making technological progress - define the experiment so "crashing in flames a few seconds after launch" = "Success"!

Andrew ;-)