Mason's PhD student, Steven Davis, is also a rocket scientist who works for a company called SpaceX. On December 8, 2010, SpaceX became the first commercial company in history to re-enter a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit. This marks the first successful test flight of a Dragon spacecraft, which is an entirely new spacecraft designed in the last decade, and it was successful after only the second test flight of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Steve's academic background is in aeronautics, astronautics, and economics. His involvement with SpaceX includes designing, analyzing, and testing the guidance system for the Falcon-1 rocket. Congratulations to Steve and SpaceX!
See pictures and videos of the launch.
Press Kit information.
Falcon 9 Overview
December 08, 2010