SpaceX chief sets his sights on Mars

[bananas]

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/13/7078446-spacex-chief-sets-his-sights-on-mars

SpaceX chief sets his sights on Mars

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stands alongside rocket models at the National Press Club as he announces plans to build the Falcon Heavy rocket. Observers say the heavy-lift launch system could send an 11-ton payload to Mars.
By Alan Boyle

Don't expect to hear any nostalgia about the soon-to-end space shuttle era from Elon Musk, the millionaire founder of Space Exploration Technologies. Musk isn't prone to look to the past, but rather to the future — to a "new era of spaceflight" that eventually leads to Mars.

SpaceX may be on the Red Planet sooner than you think: When I talked with him in advance of the shuttle Atlantis' last liftoff, the 40-year-old engineer-entrepreneur told me the company's Dragon capsule could take on a robotic mission to Mars as early as 2016. And he's already said it'd be theoretically possible to send humans to Mars in the next 10 to 20 years — bettering NASA's target timeframe of the mid-2030s.

<snip>

"One of the ideas we're talking to NASA about is ... using Dragon as a science delivery platform for Mars and a few other locations," he told me. "This would be possibly be several tons of payload — actually, a single Dragon mission could land with more payload than has been delivered to Mars cumulatively in history."

<snip>

[ixion]

1. I'm glad the private companies are still gearing up to explore space

I wish NASA was following suit. :(

[LongTomH]

2. Amen to that, Brother

The 'best of all possible worlds' would be for NASA to purchase launches on Space-X for solar system exploration. That's the best way to fund space science and exploration.

[jul61252]

8. agreed

[LunaSea]

9. NASA hasn't lost it's wings, yet.

In fact, NASA is the prime mover behind the commercial efforts.

http://ftlfactor.com/2011/04/22/a-nasa-funded-answer-to-how-to-travel-to-space/

This is one of the key US commercial human spaceflight projects now in development by NASA. Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser vehicle.







This one will launch either atop an ATLAS V or Air-launched from Rutans "White Knight" carrier aircraft.



Further reading-
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/07/7035032-nasa-to-host-next-gen-mini-shuttle
http://www.commercialspaceflight.org/

[Johonny]

10. You mean the NASA driving around Mars, at Mercury and traveling to Pluto

must suck not to know what one is talking about.

[ixion]

11. there's always an apologist

I'm aware of these missions. If you have nothing more constructive than snark to add, I'll thank you to keep your dull-wit to yourself.

[Johonny]

12. Must we pretend NASA does nothing

because magic people aren't involved in these mission. For some yes we must.

[krispos42]

14. Yeah, after having let NASA and the DOD do all the hard work and spend all the money...

...developing space hardware and technology, the "free market" is now stepping in.

[phantom power]

3. Using Dragon for a robotic mission doesn't compute for me.

Dragon was designed for human transport, wasn't it? I can't figure the utility of repurposing that for robotic probes.

:shrug:

[bananas]

4. Surprised me too, which is why I included that snippet

Dragon was designed for both cargo and human delivery to ISS,
so it's not really being repurposed.
I think I read somewhere that it can land about 11 tons on Mars.
That's a lot of stuff.
It might also be able to do a sample return,
which would be a good test before sending people.

[phantom power]

6. Ah, it's actually multipurpose...

Looks capable enough to be adapted for a Mars mission. Bet a Falcon Heavy could light it up with enough fuel to make a HTO.

:evilgrin:

[bananas]

7. Zubrin has already updated his Mars Direct proposal and Case for Mars book

here's a good interview to listen to: http://www.thespaceshow.com/detail.asp?q=1583

[bananas]

15. At every point in the design, they chose to design it for Mars flights

This short video is worth watching if you haven't seen it:

"McKay said that Musk had told him that at every point where SpaceX had to make choices on Dragon about materials, heat shield strength and other issues, they chose to design the vehicle for Mars flights."

"McKay also revealed NASA is conducting a study on how the agency might send a drill to Mars aboard an unmanned Dragon capsule."

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2011/05/03/nasa-send-dragon-mars/

Will NASA Send a Dragon to Mars?
Posted by Doug Messier on May 3, 2011, at 10:15 pm in News

(embedded video from SpaceX)

I was at a very interesting event earlier this evening at NASA Ames during which SETI’s Pascal Lee and Mary Roach, the author of “Packing for Mars,” discussed human missions to the Red Planet. When the topic turned during the Q&A to Elon Musk’s plans to colonize Mars, moderator Chris McKay of NASA made a bit of news.

McKay said that Musk had told him that at every point where SpaceX had to make choices on Dragon about materials, heat shield strength and other issues, they chose to design the vehicle for Mars flights. That shines a new light on the video above, which shows a Dragon landing on the Red Planet. The side-mounted retro-rockets are useful not just for targeted touchdowns on Earth but for missions elsewhere.

McKay also revealed NASA is conducting a study on how the agency might send a drill to Mars aboard an unmanned Dragon capsule. I’m not entirely sure how the drill would be deployed, but it’s a really interesting idea. This would be a great way to test out a Dragon on the Red Planet.

[MrDiaz]

5. I wonder how much

more efficient the private company is compared to NASA. We shall see i guess.

[Johonny]

13. space has always been a joint venture

between private companies (such as ULA, Orbital, ATK etc...) NASA and the USAF. Read this not as a company going after NASA but a company going after other companies. The target of his vision isn't to replace NASA, but to replace those other private companies. He is trying to be more efficient then them not NASA. This is about capitalism :) Opinion in the space industry is varied as to how much of the industry SpaceX will obtain. But private companies have, do and will in the future be a part of space. This arrangement predates space travel and probably developed due to what already existed in the aerospace industry. At least that's how a read this.

As for the future of NASA, that's more up to those Congress critters than NASA.