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| El Paso-owned and proud |
Oct. 5 - Oct. 11 |
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By Tom Fenton
10/5/2008 |
 Last Sunday Ellie and I made a quick trip to the Bay Area for mom’s birthday. The Fenton clan had gathered to mark the occasion with a picnic in San Ramon at the All Veterans Memorial Park.
One member of the family couldn’t make the picnic, but he checked in regularly by cell phone. His calls were always followed by an announcement such as “we have second stage separation” – invariably followed by cheering and clapping.
The event didn’t get much notice in El Paso, but the missing brother-in-law was in Los Angeles to be on hand as the company he works for, Space X, became the first private company ever to launch a satellite – a feat matched by only a handful of governments.
Space X was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, the co-creator of PayPal, who reportedly put over $100 million of his own cash into the venture. His goal is to put payloads into space at a fraction of the cost of a NASA launch. He intends to do it reliably, and on a tight turnaround.
When the brother-in-law announced he was going to work for this outfit, we all thought, “yeah, right” (and why don’t you get a real job.)
Last Sunday he was proven right when the 70-foot Falcon 1 liquid-fueled rocket blasted off from Kwajalein Atoll 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. It achieved orbit packing a 364-pound dummy payload.
It was the company’s fourth launch. Ellie and I also happened to be around the brother-in-law for the third launch in August, which was not a good day for the Space X crowd.
The third attempt, which had a real payload, went down in the Pacific carrying the remains of astronaut Gordon Cooper and "Star Trek" actor James Doohan.
But last Sunday’s success means Space X is on its way. The company now has government contracts and in 2010 it hopes to begin testing a much larger rocket – one capable of carrying people and resupplying the international space station.
The goal: one-tenth the cost of a NASA mission.
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Way to go Cindy!
Warmest wishes to Cindy Ramos-Davison and her staff at the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
In case you missed the chamber's marquee off I-10, the organization and CEO Cindy were recognized as the best in the nation by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The recognition was given Sept. 27 at the national group’s 29th annual convention, held this year in Sacramento.
Augustine Martinez, president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber said, “Both Cindy and the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce … have helped numerous small business owners get a leg up and the resources they provide to their members are extremely important, especially in these challenging economic times.”
Comments or question? E-mail tomfenton@elpasoinc.com
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