SpaceX failed for a tenth time to get the Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket off of the launch pad at SLC-40 on the evening of Saturday June 21. Nothing unusual about that, point of fact SpaceX has had little luck launching Orbcomm satellites accurately or on a regular basis for that matter. What was unusual (at least for some) was the lengths, inaccurate statements and sad historical record surrounding the media blackout imposed by the company during this most recent attempt.
Don’t allow TrollSpace to dissuade you (TrollSpace refers to those who attack the messenger rather than address the problem), not hosting a webcast, not having any company representatives on hand to speak to the media and abandoning the media altogether – is not “routine.” Yet that’s precisely what SpaceX did. The excuse offered by the company would be laughable if not for the fact it was so insulting and that the company has strongly asserted its desire to fly national defense payloads.
Media arrived as instructed outside Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to find that SpaceX had recalled the lone public relations practitioner that had been available (SpaceX has a hard time keeping PR representatives, no fewer than four of them have joined and then left the Hawthorne, California-based firm since 2010) to California. In essence SpaceX abandoned the media to the 45th Space Wing, a fact lamented by one USAF representative as: “A complete mess.”
The situation with how SpaceX views and treats the media has seen ups and downs over the years and suggests the company has a dim view of the press. Issues can be traced back to the first Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral in 2010.
SpaceX issued no statement after the June 21 scrub, causing some to compare it to a prior F9 v1.1 launch where the media was forced to find out the next launch attempt through the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Thankfully in the case of this flight, the launch’s customer, Orbcomm, did not suffer from SpaceX’s failings and posted updates. Sadly, a helpful hand to fill in the void left by SpaceX has not always been available.
During the lead up to the COTS-1 mission, CBS correspondent Bill Harwood corrected the attempt by SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell to assert her company had done a good job with media relations, countering that it took “hours and hours and hours” after the mission to find out even basic things about what had taken place. Put simply, he told the company’s COO and President that her company had not done a good job with concern to the press and he was
absolutely correct. This exchange took place in late 2010. More recently SpaceX issued a series of excuses as to why it was not allowing remote cameras to be set up for the launch of CASSIOPE. These assertions failed to pass the smell test and set the stage for what took place today.
Opinion: SpaceX ‘routinely’ fails to launch, imposes media blackout causing firestorm - SpaceFlight Insider
SpaceX Falcon 9 having problems.SpaceX falcon 1 total failure. Media blackout according to experts on space exploration. Lol .
That is why India has nuclear weapons . Neither I am believer of equality. I am of the conclusion that nuclear war is inevitable and will happen within next 10 years.
