Musk Admits Sleep Elusive Before Iss Launch

Bachelor billionaire Musk

ELON MUSK, 40, the Internet entrepreneur and owner of SpaceX, which aims to be the first private firm to send a cargo craft to the International Space Station, admits he has a case of pre-launch jitters - prior to the pre-dawn launch now set for Saturday, May 19, 2012.

The latest schedule enables the SOYUZ TMA-04M crew to have launched May 15, 2012 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and dock to the orbiting International Space Station a couple of days later.

In an INTERVIEW WITH AFP, Musk described the oft-delayed launch of his company's cargo-loaded Dragon spacecraft as both "EXCITING" and "EXTREMELY DIFFICULT," and expressed confidence in his Space Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) team in California, Florida and Texas.

Dragon approach to ISS

"IT'S JUST TAKING LONGER THAN EXPECTED TO ANALYZE ALL THE DATA," Musk told AFP by telephone. "WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SOFTWARE IS GOING TO MAKE THE RIGHT COMMANDS AND NOT ENDANGER THE SPACE STATION."

SpaceX has experienced delays from the beginning of this year on the need to verify flight software can safely accomplish the Dragon spacecraft's final approach to the space station, a sensitive phase of the mission in which the capsule must be capable of recognizing on-board problems and executing an abort out of the vicinity of the crewed outpost.

Falcon 9 engine test A-OK

"I USUALLY SLEEP WELL BEFORE A LAUNCH... BUT NO, I'M NOT SLEEPING WELL," Musk said with a laugh when asked if he was nervous this time around but refused to lay precise odds on Dragon's success, saying it was "PROBABLY MORE THAN 50 PERCENT" -- and pledging to try again should the launch fail. "It's exciting and... it's an extremely difficult task, and we want it to succeed at the first try," he said.

"NASA DOES FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT IT AND WE FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT IT," he said, though cautioning: "YOU CAN'T SIMULATE THE ISS ON THE GROUND."

President Obama supports SpaceX

The Falcon 9 rocket itself has launched twice, ever. There is data floating around in the space community for decades now that the chances of failure for a new rocket is about one in three, notes space journalist JOHN KELLY AT "FLORIDA TODAY". Failure will result is probable backlash among traditionalists on Capitol Hill who do not readily embrace the private sector effort in space.

Kelly advises readers, "If SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, on just its second orbital flight and its first trying to chase and meet up with the space station, docks at the orbiting outpost, the achievement could be the catalyst for a technical and political game-changer."

Animated Dragon landing on Mars

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon is new space hardware. The launch, orbital rendezvous and docking, undocking and safe return to Earth will make a historic milestone in space history. Such success will certainly earn Elon Musk much more than a SINGLE GOOD NIGHT REST as the real "'IRON MAN'" continues his unique multi-year trek to Mars.

Origin: dark-shadowy-line.blogspot.com