SpaceX Conquering Space Despite NASA’s Monopoly

There are very few countries that are trying to explore space, America is the largest one with the biggest space agency called NASA. It is the abbreviation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. With a giant budget, it is the only agency that has been able to reach the moon. There are many space exploration programs underway at NASA including Mars missions and several Space Telescopes. 

SpaceX on the other hand is a company that is a private contractor to the American government and also works on space exploration. It is the first private company of its type and it has remarkable achievements under its banner despite being just twenty-two years old. SpaceX often came up with the solutions that even NASA was struggling with, with a comparatively higher budget.

NASA vs SpaceX History

NASA was founded in 1958 and has a decades-long career in space exploration and satellite transportation. It is the pioneer in conquering space and has a great achievement of Apolo Moon Landing. It also has the Space Shuttle program which was retired in 2011. The space shuttle program launched 135 times and helped in the creation and management of the International Space Station. 

While these are some huge milestones that NASA achieved in its glory days, in the early 2000s NASA was facing towering challenges like budget cuts, the influence of politics and politicians, and bureaucratic red tape. 

On the other hand, SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk in 2002  with the purpose of reducing the transportation cost of space and making it easier for more people to experience space travel. With a budget exceeding $ 20 billion, NASA has a large number of operations going on from planetary exploration to Earth science whereas SpaceX having an annual budget of $2 billion, focuses on exclusive and specific projects which ultimately helps in a concentrated approach with faster decision making.

Innovations in Development of Technology

One of SpaceX’s landmark achievements is the successful reuse of the rockets. The rockets used to launch in space were always unusable afterward and would fall into the ocean with a preplanned trajectory. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was the first project in which a rocket can reenter the atmosphere and land itself allowing it to be reused again.

In the past NASA also wanted to apply reusable technology, for which the space shuttle program was a big example, but it wasn’t very successful and some of them met with a tragic fate over the course of years. SpaceX’s rapid testing and designing made the impossible task possible. 

SpaceX views the failed attempts as lessons to be learned from and has an agile approach toward testing. They rapidly grab the fault in a failed test, modify the design, and then test again. Unlike NASA, which has a methodical and conservative approach, which leads to increased costs and longer development times.

NASA relies too much on contractors to build its stuff from where they lose control over quality. SpaceX produces most of its infrastructure in-house where they have much control over the quality and timing. This vertical integration has made SpaceX develop at a rather rapid speed which the world wasn’t used to seeing. 

Commercialization of Space

SpaceX is working on the same mindset on which the company was founded, that is the commercialization of the space. The company wants to reduce the cost for the people to access space, as much as possible. SpaceX often takes contracts from international partners, governments, and satellite companies for launching services. It has created a sustainable business model which thrives on innovation.

SpaceX has already secured contracts from the government for launching satellites, and from NASA itself to provide transportation to the International Space Station. It has generated a good stream of revenue which further motivates the company towards the development of better technology. 

Achievements of SpaceX

SpaceX became the first private company to launch a liquid-fueled rocket into the Earth’s orbit. It was a huge milestone achieved in 2008 and it also showed the true potential of private industry in space exploration.

In 2020, SpaceX crew Dragon became the first privately funded and built spacecraft to transport astronauts into the International Space Station. Currently, SpaceX is working on a Starship rocket, designed for the missions of Mars and beyond. It shows the leading capabilities of SpaceX and showcases the highly developed technology over the years. 

SpaceX as an Organization

 SpaceX has a flat and straightforward organizational structure, unlike NASA which has a complex and hierarchical model that hinders the decision-making and takes time to process simple requests. Whereas at SpaceX, the workers are in direct contact with the leadership. The engineers voice their concerns openly and are heard. This increases the efficiency and speeds up the innovation process.

SpaceX has also acquired talent from across the globe, engineers, technicians, and managerial staff, who are the best of the best and ensure quality and smooth workforce.

Future Challenges for SpaceX

Despite having a great record of groundbreaking innovations, SpaceX still faces challenges. The founder Elon Musk says that the company is still in its prime stage. It is working relentlessly for its Mars and beyond missions. SpaceX is also competing with its rival companies, especially NASA. It also has to reduce the inherent flight risks and commercialize space tourism. 

Conclusion

SpaceX has remarkable achievements under its belt. From launching rockets to transporting astronauts, it has made itself clear about its ambition to explore space and make it reachable for an average tourist. The rise of SpaceX can be seen as a benchmark for the private sector for its true potential to even surpass government-led companies in some aspects.

SpaceX challenged the norms and embraced its failure only to learn valuable lessons from them and keep innovating its designs and developing the technologies required to fulfill its purpose. As we know it is far from over for SpaceX, and it will continue to astonish the world with its achievements and victories.