SpaceX winning more commercial space launch business. Busy year ahead.

SpaceX continues to win commercial space launch business, such as this SpaceX/Boeing deal. Its competitive pricing and recent successes are bolstering its launch backlog.  And in a recent BBC interview, Elon Musk suggested that one of SpaceX's biggest competitors for commercial launches, Arianespace with its very reliable Ariane 5 rocket, would not be able to compete in the future (which he seems to have softened in a tweet that said that he was just implying that they need to move forward with their Ariane 6 vehicle).

So 2013 looks like a busy year, not only for ISS resupply missions and commercial launches (see the SpaceX launch manifest), but for R&D missions such as the Falcon Heavy launch as well.  The Falcon 9 platform is being improved with the introduction of the Merlin 1D engine (changing the rocket's designation to Falcon 9 v1.1), and other initiatives like Grasshopper and the Dragon certification for human flight will also continue full steam.

SpaceX Grasshopper takes another hop

Video of Grasshopper's newest hop.

Part of SpaceX's long term vision is increasing the reusability of its components.  This would allow SpaceX to reduce the all-important cost per pound to orbit even more.

As mentioned here, the Dragon capsule, unlike many other spacecraft, returns to earth to be reused.  But the 178 foot, 368 ton Falcon 9 rocket currently ends up in the Atlantic ocean.

The Grasshopper project is the R&D effort to change that.  The goal is to have the Falcon 9 return to earth using a autonomous, precision landing system.  This system would guide the rocket to make a precise landing at a specified site so that the rocket could be reused.

The first test of Grasshopper was September 21st of this year.  The new test was of Grasshopper occurred last week (November 1st).  The new test, at 17.7 feet, more than doubled the height of the first test which was only 6 feet.  The plan is conduct many tests, with increasingly larger "hops" over the next several years.

Wired did a nice write up of the test here.

Video of the first hop: