Company Recently Awarded $1.6 Billion Contract From NASA

Space Exploration Technologies founder Elon Musk told ANN this week he expects his company's first Falcon 9 heavy-lift booster to be fully integrated by New Year's Eve.

"[Sunday] we lifted the first stage off the shipping truck and lowered it onto the integration assemblies," Musk writes. "With all of the F9 hardware currently at or on its way to the Cape, we are on track for a fully integrated launch vehicle by year's end.

"Barring any unforeseen delays, the second stage and fairing are expected to arrive at the Cape by December 28th and will be mated on December 31st, just in time for the New Year.

"The erector is also on track towards operational status in early January, with the base assembly to be aligned and tacked by December 26th and welding to be complete early in the New Year," Musk concluded. "Hold down assemblies are expected to arrive shortly after the New Year and with our ground control system at SLC-40 currently operational, it's just a matter of days before F9 is vertical at the Cape."

As ANN reported, on Wednesday NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract to provide 12 cargo resupply flights to the International Space Station, beginning within the next two years. Those flights will utilize the Falcon 9 booster, with the company's Dragon cargo delivery capsule riding atop the rocket... a set-up SpaceX says could lead to manned spaceflights, as well.

Before any of that occurs, however, SpaceX needs a perfect first launch for the Falcon 9... something the company was not able to accomplish with the smaller Falcon 1 rocket, until that booster's fourth launch this September.

FMI: www.spacex.com