Elon Musk and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)
Mankind is seeking to explore new fields. It augurs well for mankind to find new avenues in every field and space exploration is surely a priority in this regard however, the cost involved for such exploration is massive. This article will cover Space Exploration Technologies Corp ( Space X ) which was formed in 2002 by Elon Musk. It is an American aerospace manufacturer & space transportation services company. Its headquarter is in Hawthorne ( California).
One of the key objectives of SpaceX is to reduce the space transportation cost so that Mars can be colonized.
The credit of developing quite a few launch vehicles is in the name of SpaceX. It has also developed Dragon Cargo spacecraft, Starlink satellite constellation and Rocket engines. SpaceX has flown humans and cargos to the International space station on the SpaceX Dragon 2.
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Going by all these efforts we can make out the kind of pivotal role SpaceX has been playing, as it knows the road map ahead for humanity will be associated with Space, more than any other field. Therefore, SpaceX has been instrumental in this connection.
Goals of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)
Elon Musk has gone on record to state that, one of his primary goals is to reduce the cost factor associated with Space exploration and improve the reliability of access to space.
Elon Musk is of the opinion that space exploration costs can be decreased to some degree. In fact, he has stated, " I believe US $ 500 per pound ( US $ 1100 / kg ) or less is very achievable". Elon Musk wants to make space travel available for " almost anyone ". Keeping in mind the above-stated points, SpaceX is operating and trying to make inroads in this field.
One of the major goals of Space X has been to come up with a reusable launch system. In 2015, SpaceX was successful in landing the first orbital rocket stage on 21st December 2015. Not only this, in the year 2017, Space X formed a subsidiary, The Boring company, and started constructing a short test tunnel on and adjacent to the SpaceX headquarters. It also started a manufacturing facility, utilizing a small number of employees which was completed in 2018.
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It is significant to mention out here, that during 2018, The Boring Company was spun out into a separate entity. 6 % of the equity went to SpaceX, less than 10% to early employees, and the rest of the equity got transferred to Elon Musk.
Elon Musk opined at the International Astronautical Congress ( IAC ) that his plan is to build a large spaceship to reach Mars. By means of such a Starship, Musk is keen to send at least two uncrewed cargo ships to Mars in 2022. The first mission will revolve around the need to seek out sources of water and erect a propellant plant. Elon Musk also made it clear that he plans to fly as many as 4 additional ships to Mars in 2024 including the first people. Subsequently, additional missions would operate to set up a colony on Mars, but it must be mentioned in clear-cut ways that these goals are facing delays.
Although Elon Musk is looking at long-term settlement of Mars, but for successful colonization at Mars other players will have to be involved as well. SpaceX alone cannot materialize this. A lot of individuals,, Companies and even Governments will have to be a party to such long-term goals. In the absence of active participation of such players, SpaceX will not be able to make this dream come true single-handedly.
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It won't be unfair to say that SpaceX has made some major achievements or breakthroughs in the reuse of orbital-class launch vehicles as well as in reducing costs for the space launch industry. It is worth mentioning, that continued landings and relaunches of Falcon 9 has been a major achievement, not only this till December 2020, SpaceX has successfully used two separate first-stage booster called as B1049 and B1051 respectively, as many as 7 times. Since SpaceX is a private company, therefore, its achievements may be regarded as the first by any private company in relation to such activities.
It also became the first private company to have sent humans into orbit by Crew Dragon Demo 2. In fact, it went on to become the first private company to send humans to International Space Station. It also has the unique distinction of launching most spacecraft into space on a single mission with 143 satellites by using Transporter - 1 on Falcon 9. Therefore, we can say that SpaceX has already made its presence felt in space exploration and is contributing to this cause in an extensive manner.
Conclusion
This article must have given you all, a fairly good idea about SpaceX. It is contributing a lot as far as space exploration is concerned. Its effort could turn out to be a game-changer for mankind. A lot of Space agencies are also into space technologies and exploration, but SpaceX is the first of its kind as a private operator dealing with this field. It has already made an impact and SpaceX is in with a strong determination to succeed & achieve more in times ahead.
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