Space shot on Sunday...

Alright, I admit it, I get excited about sending things to space. SpaceX is a company solely funded (for now) by one of the founders of Paypal. The idea is that something private will be much more efficient than the government projects that have been the driving force to this point. I will be really happy if this works. It will be the first step in a bold new direction that I really think must be taken.

We recently completed our first major pre-launch milestone, the Flight Readiness Review (FRR). This confirmed that all Vehicle, Payload, Ground Support Equipment, and Personnel are ready for launch. Following the FRR, the Falcon 1 was rolled out to the pad and we completed our wet dress rehearsal, which is a full countdown that holds approximately one minute before T-0.

The upgrades to the vehicle, Kwajalein launch facilities and our launch procedures have proven quite effective, and we have had a relatively smooth launch campaign up to this point. A number of non-critical issues arose during the wet-dress and are being resolved, but we have seen nothing to date that should delay our launch schedule.

Going forward, a static fire is planned Thursday, January 18 (California time). We have a launch window on January 21 and 22 (California time) and are working with the range to secure a couple of additional days as contingency. Should we go beyond that, which is still a good possibility as we work with the upgraded vehicle, pad, and procedures, the next available launch window is mid February. - www.spacex.com