Leader In Commercial Space Business Talks About The Future
After bearing the pouring rain that ""blessed"" the ground-breaking of a new launch facility headquartered in the shadow of historic Space Launch Complex 40, Aero-TV's Jim Campbell got some rare one-on-one time with SpaceX honcho, Elon Musk. The new facility, which will someday launch Falcon 9 rockets for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) was dedicated early in November, during the World Space Expo. Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) is situated on the historic Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and will start serving as the primary launch site for SpaceX's upcoming Falcon 9 launch vehicle, beginning in late 2008.

Located on the Florida coast, just south of NASA's launch site for all Apollo moon missions and Space Shuttle flights, SLC-40 is capable of supporting both the Falcon 9 and future Falcon 9 Heavy missions. In operation since 1965, SLC-40 has hosted numerous launches, including the departure of two interplanetary missions -- the Mars Observer satellite, and the Cassini spacecraft now exploring the rings and moons of the planet Saturn.

"Initiating activities at the Cape in Florida is a major milestone in our mission to decrease the cost of reliable access to space,"" said Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, at the ceremony.

In the coming months, SpaceX will perform extensive upgrades and removal of outdated infrastructure to transform the site into a state of the art facility for commercial satellite launches, supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS), and eventually lofting crew carrying missions to the ISS and future orbiting destinations.