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Space is opening up for business

Posted at 12:36 PM on September 30, 2008 by Sanden Totten (1 Comments)

One giant leap for the private sector.

This week the first privately developed liquid fueled rocket made a successful launch into earth's orbit. It was sent up by SpaceX, a start up funded by the man behind PayPal, Elon Musk.

As you may remember, their last attempt didn't go so well. The ship was toast before making it to orbit. It came crashing down with NASA equipment, a Department of Defense satellite and the ashes of 200 people, including James Doohan, Star Trek's Scottie.

This time they decided to play it safe and just send up some aluminum to stand in for what will hopefully one day be a real payload. SpaceX's stated goal is to launch a set of vehicles "intended to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation, ultimately by a factor of ten."

If they succeed, private companies will soon see space endeavors within their price range. But what will these companies send up? Well, more cargo for NASA is one safe bet. But maybe more energy drinks are soon to follow?