Watch South African’s Rocket Launch

Any minute now a rocket owned by South African multi-millionare Elon Musk may blast off on its maiden voyage. This will be a trial run for Musk’s company which hopes to soon be doing the same for NASA.

[Update: It’s official. Elon says the Falcon 9 rocket achieved an almost perfect orbit. GPS telemetry showed the rocket’s second stage and dummy Dragon capsule hit “essentially a bullseye,” according to Musk. SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW THE PHOTOS at the end of this article]

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies) will make the first test launch attempt with its Falcon 9 launch vehicle today (Friday 4 June) with the four-hour launch window opening at 11am Eastern Standard Time.

If the weather cooperates, you can watch a LIVE webcast of the LAUNCH.

SpaceX has also reserved a second launch day on Saturday 5 June, with the same hours, should the launch not be possible today.

Elon Musk is the South African entrepreneur who co-founded online payment gateway PayPal. His new company is eight-years-old and is currently attempting to win NASA’s business once its shuttle service ceases. SpaceX expects to be able to haul cargo next year and astronauts within three years. President Obama visited the SpaceX launch pad in April.

Musk said: “I hope people don’t put too much emphasis on our success, because it’s simply not correct to have the fate of commercial launch depend on what happens in the next few days. But it certainly does add to the pressure.”

Falcon 9’s flight should last up to 10 minutes…if it takes off. An earlier version (Falcon 1) only managed take off after four attempts.

One of the most important criteria today will be the weather. According to weather experts at Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA) where the launch is due to happen, there’s a 40% chance of “no go” conditions because there’s the potential for cumulus and anvil clouds from thunderstorms.

According to SpaceX’s website: “It’s important to note that since this is a test launch, our primary goal is to collect as much data as possible, with success being measured as a percentage of how many flight milestones we are able to complete in this first attempt. It would be a great day if we reach orbital velocity, but still a good day if the first stage functions correctly, even if the second stage malfunctions. It would be a bad day if something happens on the launch pad itself and we’re not able to gain any flight data.

“If we have a bad day, it will be disappointing, but one launch does not make or break SpaceX as a company, nor commercial spaceflight as an industry. The Atlas rocket only succeeded on its 13th flight, and today it is the most reliable vehicle in the American fleet, with a record better than Shuttle.

“Regardless of the outcome, this first launch attempt represents a key milestone for both SpaceX and the commercial spaceflight industry. Keep in mind the launch dates and times are still subject to change, so please check the webcast page above for updates to this schedule. We appreciate your ongoing support and we hope you will tune in on launch day.”

PHOTOS OF SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH TODAY:

Credit: Spaceflight Now photos by Ben Cooper

Credit: Spaceflight Now photos by Ben Cooper