FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SpaceX Falcon Rocket to Be Unveiled in Washington DC Tomorrow, December 4th
Press Conference and Reception Herald Impending Launch of Privately Funded, Re-Useable, Orbital Rocket
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) will unveil its Falcon orbital launch vehicle in Washington, DC tomorrow Thursday, December 4th. SpaceX will bring the entire seven-story high rocket and its mobile launch system to the nation’s capital as part of the celebrations marking the hundred-year anniversary of manned flight. The company will host an unveiling ceremony and press conference on 600 Independence Avenue (in front of the FAA Headquarters) at 8:00PM
With the grounding of the Space Shuttle creating a backlog in hitchhiker satellite deliveries, there is a great need for new means of access to space. Moreover, the Falcon rocket is notable for being:
- The first rocket with substantial reusability developed since the Space Shuttle first flew more than two decades ago. Once the Shuttle retires, the Falcon will become the world’s only reusable rocket
- A major breakthrough in the cost of access to space, with a price per flight to orbit over four times lower than the nearest American competitor.
- Designed from a “clean sheet” for reliable space transportation. Most existing launch vehicles, which were derived from weapons systems, have comparatively lower reliability.
SpaceX expects to launch the Falcon in early 2004 from the SpaceX launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Scheduled payload will be a Department of Defense tactical communications & observation satellite called TacSat-1.