| QUOTE |
| July 14, 2009 M'sian satellite in orbit CAPE CANAVERAL (Florida) - A PIONEERING rocket company that wants to take over the job of sending US astronauts to the International Space Station launched an imaging satellite into orbit late on Monday for a Malaysian firm, its first paying customer. Space Exploration Technologies' Falcon 1 rocket lifted off from Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Western Pacific at 11.35pm EDT (11.35am Singapore time) on Tuesday carrying the 400-pound (180kg) RazakSAT satellite, designed and built by ATSB of Malaysia. The spacecraft has black-and-white and colour cameras to take high-resolution pictures of agricultural lands, forests, urban centres and other targets in Malaysia for commercial and government customers. It was the fifth flight for Space Exploration Technologies, a privately funded California firm founded by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, a co-creator of the PayPal financial services company that was purchased by eBay for US$1.5 billion (S$2.19 billion) in 2002. SpaceX's first three launches in 2006, 2007 and 2008, fell short of reaching orbit. Its fourth launch last September successfully put a dummy payload into orbit. In addition to its Falcon 1 rocket, which can put a half-ton payload into orbit for about US$8 million, SpaceX is developing a heavy-lift Falcon 9 rocket that can carry 11 tonnes to low-Earth orbit, or four tonnes to an orbit 22,300 miles above the planet, for about US$40 million. 'We're the lowest prices on the market for comparable capabilities,' Mr Musk said in a recent interview. The firm's biggest customer is Nasa, which has reservations for more than half of SpaceX's two dozen upcoming missions. The company has contracts to develop and deliver a space station cargo vehicle. It also is petitioning for a US$300 million contract addition to upgrade its Dragon capsule to ferry astronauts to and from the space station after Nasa retires its space shuttle fleet next year. -- REUTERS |
| QUOTE (dacis2 @ Jul 14 2009, 06:48 PM) |
There's not much they can see if they look this way anyway. Most of our military equipment is always under overhead cover. |
| QUOTE (Iowa_BB61 @ Jul 14 2009, 06:59 PM) |
| It can be use to spot for any mass mobilisation of our equipments during a crisis, giving them time to react to any impending invasion. I wonder if it is equipped with SAR? |
| QUOTE (FIVE-TWO @ Jul 14 2009, 07:28 PM) | ||
do you mean whether it is carrying a SARSAT (Search And Rescue Satellite) payload? |
| QUOTE (Iowa_BB61 @ Jul 14 2009, 07:44 PM) | ||||
I was actually referring to a synthetic aperture radar in reference to the black and white camera. |
| QUOTE (IceStorm @ Jul 14 2009, 06:21 PM) |
| at 9 degrees inclination.. i think they are more interested in south china sea, southern thailand and southern phillipine then singapore. |