LIVE: Falcon 9 Flight 1 Maiden Flight - June 4, 2010

[Comga]

Wonderful feat of engineering and perserverence
Very very good to see
Congratulations to the SpaceX team!

On the SpaceflightNow chat someone logged in as "Fail" and repeated that word hundreds of times after the abort.  I think he logged off.  Good riddance to nasty negativism.  This doesn't prove that they can launch regularly for low cost, but it goes a long way towards it.

I am looking foward to learning the reason for the abort, the status of first stage recovery, and the details of the flight, including the (BBQ?) roll and the steering system operations.  Anyone know if there is will be a second firing of the second stage and when it might be?

[Lars_J]

Via Robert Pearlman: http://twitpic.com/1twaez/full

Beautiful!!!

[ugordan]

Very unprofessional woman in the launch control center screaming and shouting over the loop.

Great wasn't it? Glad to see some passion, I cried myself and I'm not even involved.

Yeah, that was great to hear. Didn't expect it from the launch crew, though.

[Chris Bergin]

So where are my kudos for predicting a June launch last January

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=18936.msg521188#msg521188

[Martin.cz]

Congratulations to everyone involved !!

[bad_astra]

So where are my kudos for predicting a June launch last January

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=18936.msg521188#msg521188

Kudos!

[K466]

Congratulations Space X!

Heavy cloud cover limited me to a short 5 second glimpse of the launch, here's my only picture:

http://www.gather.com/viewImage.action?fileId=3096224746388130

[Lars_J]

Late in the first stage flight, the rocket and plume really did look a *LOT* like Saturn V footage... Which makes sense, since they both used the same fuel. Very neat.

[Halidon]

So, who was saying Mid-July?

[gladiator1332]

Very unprofessional woman in the launch control center screaming and shouting over the loop.

Great wasn't it? Glad to see some passion, I cried myself and I'm not even involved.

Gotta say I was unprofessional myself and yelled out a few times. My dog barked a few times to remind me that I was being loud and unprofessional and to quiet down.

[Rocket Rancher]

Some photos

[Garrett]

Way to go SpaceX! I think we'll all sleep with big smiles on our faces tonight! Thanks SpaceX and Elon for bringing back the drama to spaceflight!

[gladiator1332]

Late in the first stage flight, the rocket and plume really did look a *LOT* like Saturn V footage... Which makes sense, since they both used the same fuel. Very neat.

Especially on the CNN coverage which from the ground at the Cape. I hope we can get that ground video at some point.

[zerm]

Congratulations Space X. Way to go great first launch. So what do you naysayers have to say now?  They reached orbit on the first try great job Space X.

Naysayers will always be there- they never go away, just like the Ares I-X naysayers never changed their tune. All naysayers should simply be ignored- the real proof in flying is done through demonstrated ability- not through what some arm-chair expert says. Today SpaceX demonstrated their ability. That says a lot.

[Rocket Rancher]

A duplicate, I hate when that happens 

[stockman]

Way to go SpaceX! I think we'll all sleep with big smiles on our faces tonight! Thanks SpaceX and Elon for bringing back the drama to spaceflight!

Yep.. I guess they can all un-pucker now     

[spacedem]

I love the juxtaposition.  Add another white star to that flag!

Some photos

[ugordan]

Some photos

Awesome, thanks. Nothing beats the look of a RP-1 powered first stage IMHO.

On a related note, looking at a replay now, at liftoff it rotated counterclockwise significantly before regaining control.

[iamlucky13]

Via Robert Pearlman: http://twitpic.com/1twaez/full

Beautiful!!!

Looking at that picture now, I wonder if what I thought was burning insulation was just the reflection of the exhaust plume on whatever was falling off (painted cork, ice, ).

Nicely called Jim. I hadn't remembered your actual prediction and thought we were past it.

[Avron]

Congratulations Space X!

Heavy cloud cover limited me to a short 5 second glimpse of the launch, here's my only picture:

http://www.gather.com/viewImage.action?fileId=3096224746388130

Cool.. thanks for sharing