The SpaceX company of Elon Musk launched its Falcon 9 into orbit for the first time today – this is one of the private spacecraft that NASA is counting on for future access to space.

After one aborted launch attempt that shut down automatically when telemetry readings were not correct, a second attempt took the craft successfully to orbit. Look for updates here

What I find especially interesting about SpaceX and their plans is that they are quite clear about their vision to expand human activity in space. They are not timid about saying so. And by the way they have some 31 launches already scheduled through 2015, including becoming the supply ship to the space station if all goes according to plan

Exciting.

Update:
Video now on YouTube…

Live launch video feed is available right now. Watch if you can…

Not literally, obviously, but in my sense of future possibilities. When Colliers and other magazines in the 1950’s featured the Von Braun space station on their covers – the great wheel in space that became an iconic image – this locked in for me a life-long interest in space exploration. For a short time in the 1960’s I imagined being an astronaut until it was clear I was too tall for that, not to mention the rigor of qualifying. Later, as explained in the story of Futurist.com my original futurist mentor came from the Apollo program.

So, you might understand why I get frustrated with the agonizingly slow expansion into space. Now my colleague, Brenda Cooper, advises me that when looked at in galactic time, progressing from the Wright Brothers to missions to planets and human missions in orbit and for a while to the moon, all in 107 years, is pretty impressive and probably about fast enough. True.

Still, when I read that over and over again this and other nations are unsure, at the national government level, how much to invest I wonder how we can miss seeing the opportunity, or even the necessity of becoming a space-faring civilization (according to Stephen Hawking). There will never be lack of earth-bound problems to distract us, but at the same time there is never a lack of the relatively small amounts of money required to, for example, send people to Mars or even to begin terraforming.

My hope is that we see the space imperative more clearly in years to come.

Glen Hiemstra is a futurist speaker, consultant, blogger, internet video host and founder of Futurist.com. To arrange for a speech contact Futurist.com.

Nearby solar system may harbor life

Glen Hiemstra is a futurist speaker, consultant, blogger, internet TV show host and founder of Futurist.com. To arrange for a speech contact Futurist.com.

One of the most impressive people I have met is Elon Musk, whom I have seen at Future In Review conferences. He was founder of PayPal as well as Zip2 Corporation, and after selling them poured his efforts and money into two primary endeavors, the all-electric car company Tesla Motors, and a private space launch company, SpaceX.

When I heard Elon a couple of years ago as SpaceX was nearing its test flights, he sounded to me like my mentor as a futurist and speaker, Ed Lindaman, who had been director of program planning for Apollo. In other words, Elon sounded like a space guy as he talked enthusiastically and confidently about how his company would achieve the first private launches into orbit, and eventually would lead the way to Mars.

Here is the good news, amazing news really. Late last month, SpaceX successfully launched the first private, liquid-fuel rocket into earth orbit. It carried a dummy payload, and demonstrated the tremendous progress that SpaceX has made in a few short years. You can watch the inspiring video of the launch here.

In the very long run humans will become a space-faring civilization, far beyond our efforts so far. This is our real destiny.

Glen Hiemstra is a futurist speaker, consultant, blogger, internet TV show host and founder of Futurist.com. To arrange for a speech contact Futurist.com.

Glen Hiemstra is a futurist speaker, consultant, blogger, internet TV show host and founder of Futurist.com. To arrange for a speech contact Futurist.com.

First, the several successful NASA missions to Mars have culminated with the confirmation of water ice by the current Mars explorer Phoenix. This craft used an on-board lab to confirm that a soil sample contained water vapor when heated. Obviously the existence of water on Mars makes it much more feasible to imagine human missions, even settlements on the red planet, because the water makes it possible to manufacture both hydrogen for fuel and oxygen for life support. It was really a forgone conclusion that water would be present, as we have noted before in 2000, but this observation by Phoenix is the first-ever physical confirmation.

Over the weekend the blogs were full of speculation that NASA is about to announce further test results that suggest either life or the possibility of life on Mars. However, NASA sought to dampen this speculation yesterday.

The second development that suggests a prospect for human mission to Mars was actually the failed launch of the Falcon 1 by the private space launch company, SpaceX on Saturday. This was the third test flight for the Falcon 1. After a perfect launch and first stage separation, the second stage failed to separate from the third, preventing the craft from achieving low earth orbit. At the same time, Elon Musk, company founder noted that a new booster engine performed perfectly, and the entire effort represented progress. Musk created SpaceX after selling PayPal, and has assembled the best private space launch team in the business. The plan is to develop heavy launch capabilities, and eventually manned craft. The company has snagged contracts with NASA, and I’ve heard Musk confidently describe a pathway to eventual trips to Mars in the decade of the 2020’s. SpaceX is discovering how hard space flight really is, but their progress suggests that a private company can be part of the answer as to how we get to Mars.

I believe that it is vital to the long term human future that we continue to develop our ability to be a space-faring civilization.

Glen Hiemstra is a futurist speaker, consultant, blogger, internet TV show host and founder of Futurist.com. To arrange for a speech contact Futurist.com.

This speech calling for a 10-year program to shift the entire U.S. electricity production to “0-carbon” via solar, wind, and geothermal is magnificent. It is the embodiment of what “bold vision,” “big hairy audacious goals,” and the “one thing” that changes everything are all about.

Can it be done? Easy, actually. Lucrative, certainly. Transformative, absolutely.

As you shift to 0-carbon electricity, you simultaneously shift to plug-in hybrid and electric cars, another winner for the U.S. economy and workers.

The money quote from Al Gore: “We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change.”

Awesome. A roadmap for a positive future. The fact that this speech was one day past the anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, which landed men on the moon in response to JFK’s 10-year challenge, was poetic.

No time to waste.

Glen Hiemstra is a futurist speaker, consultant, blogger, internet TV show host and founder of Futurist.com. To arrange for a speech contact Futurist.com.