Psyche!!!11!

That launch and booster return was probably the coolest and most exciting thing I've ever seen! It was spectacular!

I'm ok with private companies doing this but ultimately it could hurt NASA if the company gets accomplishments that the govt doesn't. Can you imagine the GOP saying well private industry is doing great. No need for NASA at all. Too scary.

...it's budget for the mission to the Mars, via the Moon.

...rocket payload and passenger delivery systems to space.

For instance, Blue Origin (https://www.blueorigin.com) had a successful launch and recovery test mission a couple or so weeks ago. This is the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, of Amazon.com fame.

Then there's Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic (http://www.virgingalactic.com) which will take space tourists to the edge of space and return them to the launch site using air planes and gliders.

Then there's the subject of this OP, the Falcon by SpaceX (https://www.facebook.com/SpaceX / http://www.spacex.com), which is an Elon Musk, of Tesla EV fame, project.

And there are many others in various stages of development. It's a very exciting time in space flight.

Blue Origin doesn't actually go into space. Nor do any of the others. Those are totally different designs used for tourist flight, suborbital stuff. Falcon is a heavy lifter designed to actually break free of Earth's atmosphere and return home. It's a pretty big deal.

A object can get into space without attaining orbit. It'll just fall back to Earth.

They lease launch facilities from us, NASA contracts them to do work. It's not ideal, in my mind, but Congress kept cutting funding for space, then Bush finally eliminated the space program as we know it. This is a good thing. If you could see how SpaceX has helped revitalize communities down there. Unfortunately, the people are making considerably less money.

My friends who live nearby are posting that the re-entry sonic boom was so loud it broke windows and cracked plaster.

The landing of the first stage back at the Cape was dead nuts, as they say. I highly recommend viewing this video. I have not been this excited about a space mission since Saturn V days.

They landed the fucking first stage booster back at the Cape. And it stuck like glue!

Incredible!

SpaceX does a very good job in this video. I recommend it.

R&K

And hey, what happens to that second stage that they said is leaving orbit now. Just gets sent to outer space? Space trash?

Spectacular!

And all the safety compromises that will come with it, but well done. I guess.

At this point it doesn't matter if it is corporate or gov funded, they have just progressed us in our space travel. Ultimately were it the gov the corporations would eventually follow. In this case the corporation is leading but who cares. We need the progress.