I can't believe that the launch is scheduled for April 30th; in my mind, commercial spaceflight was at least another year away. Either way, if all goes well, I think this marks the beginning of yet another era, and the milestone is, quite frankly, amazing.
I'm surprised at the rate of progress too. NASA used to be able to make rapid progress like that, but I feel like - from my layman's perspective - they couldn't do that now. It would cost billions more than it cost SpaceX to start from nothing (well, not exactly, they had help from NASA, but still) and take years longer.
I know people who work at SpaceX. They recruit pretty heavily from CMU (where I am now). From what I have heard, this is why they get things done so quickly: 1) Elon Musk knows about every detail of the rocket's design. 2) They make almost all the parts in house (literally in the same factory). 3) The work ethic/culture at SpaceX is very high. If something needs to get done, Elon will make sure it gets done fast.
They somehow maintain a high rate of progress despite how huge the undertaking is.
SpaceX is innovating off of NASA's inventions so it has a smaller barrier to clear.
NASA is in charge of space exploration and space science with a budget that can really only handle one. In addition, politicians and not engineers run NASA.
NASA once had the job of putting man on the Moon and bringing them back before 1970. The mission is much broader now, the budgets much smaller and everything seems designed around generating as many jobs in as many places as technically possible (and frequently beyond that boundary). I'm not surprised at all.
I'm puzzled what you mean. Commercial spaceflight has been going on for decades. Commercial human spaceflight has not, but there are no humans on this flight either.
It is true that many commercial satellite launches have occured. SpaceX is the first company that has recovered a capsule after it has orbited. They are also the first commercial company that will dock with a manned space station.
First, the idea of access to orbital launch on the open market, for almost anyone with enough money to buy. That has been around for quite some time.
Second, the idea of a launch vehicle built on a company's sole initiative and designed to service the commercial market, in contrast to a launch vehicle built on a government contract that is later adapted to also suit commercial use. This is no small thing and it is something new that SpaceX has done (on this scale at least). This is the difference between selling flights on surplus B-17s on the market and building a 707.
Third, the idea of commercial manned spaceflight, which is not yet quite fully in existence despite some few early examples but which will likely have a big impact when it becomes more real.
I never implied that what SpaceX is doing isn't awesome (full disclosure: I'm moving there in 6 weeks! :), just that I didn't understand the parent comment that this particular flight is something groundbreaking.
