After 4 failed attempts, SpaceX was finally able to land their Falcon 9 booster stage on a boat. SpaceX is an American space company owned by Tesla and Paypal’s Elon Musk that is often contracted by NASA to bring materials to space. This particular mission was hauling 7000 pounds of experiments and supplies to the ISS. The 4 previous times, the rockets had tipped over and exploded upon impact. However, this time the rocket stayed upright. Elon Musk has long believed that reusable rockets were crucial for efficient, commercial space flight, and this is one huge step in the right direction.
This article is very much relevant to us. Since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, the United States has been reliant on Russia Soyuz rockets to get astronauts to space. Although SpaceX has not performed any manned missions yet, they are giving hope for the US space program and national pride. Additionally, by stepping into the realm of commercial spaceflight, SpaceX is moving towards a vast, untapped market. The possibilities offered by commercial spaceflight are endless, from tourism to asteroid mining to possibly even setting up interplanetary colonies. Regardless, this is one giant leap for mankind.
I thought that this article was well written and gave a nice summary of what occurred. I would’ve liked for it to be lengthier, possibly including quotes from experts or new of what their competitor, Blue Origin, is doing in that department. All in all, it was a good, informative read.
Chang, Kenneth. "SpaceX Rocket Sticks Landing on the 5th Try." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/science/on-fifth-try-mission-accomplished-for-spacex-booster-rocket.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0>.
Sean, this was a very interesting choice for an article! I am not up to date on space exploration, so frankly I had no idea that SpaceX even existed. I really liked the part about how Elon Musk sees reusable rockets as the future of efficient, commercial space flights. I had no idea that you could even make reusable rockets, so this was shocking to me. I also thought that you explained the relevance of this article well, saying that the step by SpaceX to tap into commercial space flights is crucial in our future and a huge potential tourism industry. You also had a very good critique of the article because I would have also liked to have had expert quotes in the summary. I also liked your point of wondering what Blue Origin, the new SpaceX competitor is doing.
ReplyDeleteI think that your summary could have been more thorough. I would have liked to have known what type of stuff SpaceX was bringing to the International Space Station. I also would have liked to know more about how they make and reuse rockets after they have been in space. I also think that you could have put in something about the monetary costs of SpaceX missions and how they are obtaining all this money to build and fly these crafts to space...I cannot imagine it is cheap, so they must have a lot of funding.
I had been following Virgin Galactic’s and Richard Branson’s program to develop commercial space flights for a while. However, I fell out of touch with his work because it was not moving quickly enough and kind of fell off the grid for me. I am a huge fan of Elon Musk, so I am really excited that he is working on this same goal. This was very informative and a very interesting read for me!
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Sean Mooney
Mooney, Sean. "Bronxville AP Biology." : SpaceX Rocket Sticks Landing on the 5th Try. Charles Ippolito, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. .
Sean I really liked your choice for your article as I am a huge Elon Musk fan. I think everything he does is amazing and worthwhile. Since I have not been following Space X recently this helped keep me informed on their progress. Reusable rockets makes sense and is the way to move forward. I thought you did a few things well in the review. I think first I really liked your synopsis of the topic it was both simple and to the point. You taught me everything that was going on in what I would say was the minimum words you needed. No added fluff. I also really liked your own perspective on the topic, I could tell you had enthusiasm like me for the project. I think however that you could have gone slightly deeper into the subject. I think it would be cool to know information on what they are doing at the space station and what they are doing nationally for governmental space programs. I also think quotes would have been really nice to help ground and explain your topic. Overall though I learned a lot especially about the indication of a competitor with Space X, I was unaware of the foretold company.
I really enjoyed reading your review of the article SpaceX Rocket Sticks Landing on the 5th Try. As a huge Elon Musk fan, I’m amazed at all of the products which he has created and it doesn’t surprise me that he would turn his attention to space travel. The fact that he was involved made the article much more interesting to me and I’m glad that you included the fact that he participated in the rocket’s creation. In regards to your writing style, I really liked how you only included the essential information, keeping you summary short, concise, and on topic making it very easy and pleasant to read. I also appreciated how you defined terms such as SpaceX which I would not have known otherwise.
ReplyDeleteWhile your review was very good, there are a few areas in which you could improve for the future. One element which I felt was missing was the actual cost of these mission and how much money the reusable rocket actually saved the company. Also, quotes from the article or a professional are always appreciated to prove the validity of what the article said.
As someone who was always fascinated by space and space travel, the idea of a cheaper and more efficient rocket is very interesting. Your review sparked my interest once again into this field and I can’t wait to see what we are able to do with this new technology.
You did a good job providing specific detail. You did a good job recounting the previous failures of the mission. You did a good job tying the article in with Elon Musk. Your review would have been stronger if you went into detail on how the rockets actually function. Your review would have been stronger if you compared the recent missions to previous missions launched by the United States. I thought the article was very surprising. It is refreshing to hear new advancements in space aviation.
ReplyDeleteHi Sean!! I loved reading your review of the article SpaceX Rocket Sticks Landing on the 5th Try. I also love Elon Musk and think his products are impeccably made and inventive so it is so interesting to see the work he is doing in space. Choosing Elon Musk was great because as you can see in the other comments so many people are interested by him and will therefore be drawn to your article. Your writing style was concise only using, essential information, keeping your summary short and on topic. I also appreciated how you defined many terms such as SpaceX which I would not have known otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSome areas you could improve on, however, are that you could have gone slightly deeper into the subject. I think it would be essential for readers to know information on what they are doing at the space station and what they are doing nationally for governmental space programs. I also think quotes would have been really nice to help ground and explain your topic. Overall I learned a lot especially about how creating a cheaper more accessible rocket is possible. Also after reading this article it sparked me to look into how his project mars was doing.
Sean, I really enjoyed your review of the article “SpaceX Rocket Sticks Landing on the 5th Try." There were a few things that stood out. One, I liked your summary. It was concise and straight to the point which was helpful because I do not know much about space exploration. Two, I know a bit about Elon Musk, and as it seems everyone else does, your article was very relevant. It’s interesting to see how Elon Musk will work with space exploration as he has already created so many great products. Three, it was helpful to define terms such as “SpaceX” because many of the readers might not be aware what that is.
ReplyDeleteAlthough your review was great, there are a few things you could do to make it even better. One, it would’ve been nice to know the cost of this, and how much money they are actually going to save. Two, it would’ve been nice if you had added a few quotes from the article to support your review.
After reading your review, I have a newly founded interest for space exploration. It’s great that they were able to make a cheaper and more efficient rocket. I can’t wait to see what they are going to do in the future. Again, I really enjoyed your review.