Image via Wikipedia Space X, the private spaceflight company, is now zero for three in its attempts to get into Orbit. The most recent attempt the rocket, Falcon 1, was lost after its two stages failed to separate during the launch phase. According to the New York Times, also lost were a Department of Defense satellite, two NASA satellites and the ashes of 208 people, including astronaut Gordon Cooper and James Doohan, the actor who played Scotty in the original Star Trek television show.

PayPal founder, Elon Musk, is behind Space X and he gave a very frank interview with Wired after the recent set-back. I’ve been a huge fan of Elon Musk since reading his profile in Wired some time ago. I love his response to whether he is optimistic:

Musk: Optimism, pessimism, fuck that; we’re going to make it happen. As God is my bloody witness, I’m hell-bent on making it work. 

Well, Elon, if you are reading this, Hubdub users also have confidence in you. The forecast is that there is a slightly better than 50% of Space X reaching orbit with its next launch. Good luck!

How many more launches will it take SpaceX to get a rocket successfully into orbit?

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