SpaceX Launching the new era of Spaceflight

SpaceX delivered 48 satellites into orbit and 22,700 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station, and now holds more than 60% of the global share of commercial launch contracts.

But SpaceX truly earned its place among the aeronautical elite—and changed the economics of space flight­—by making its reusable rocket system seemingly as reliable

Currently working on a range of Human Space Flight Missions, the company is primarily involved in designing, manufacturing and launching advanced rockets and spacecrafts. These include the Falcon Heavy, Falcon 9, and Starship rockets as well as SpaceX Dragon and Dragon V2 spacecrafts, among others.

The company’s worth is estimated at more than $20 billion.

While SpaceX, with its textbook startup-success story, may have beaten others right now, the truth is that it has competition. These are Bezos and Bransons of the world, who, much like Musk want a piece of the commercial space pie. Not to forget Boeing, an aerospace giant that (for one), built the first stage of NASA’s rocket, Saturn V that launched the Apollo moon missions.  So yes, the race is hotting up and it’s safe to say that the age of human spaceflight is coming soon. 

How SpaceX started

• In 2002, to purchase a refurbished intercontinental ballistic missile, Musk and friends travelled to Russia.
• At the time, the Silicon Valley prodigy that made millions off internet startups was not looking to start a business.
• He decided to invest a large chunk, or maybe all his fortune, on a stunt that he had hoped would reinvigorate his and the world’s interest in space exploration and funding.

• The idea was to purchase a cheap Russian rocket and use it to send Mars plants or mice — and hopefully bring them back, too. The spectacle will hopefully get the world excited about space again.
• But the Moscow meeting with Musk did not go well and he decided that he himself could develop rockets, calculating that in the process he could undercut existing launch contractors.
• Only a few months later, SpaceX was created.

What is next?

• On the 30^th of May 2020, SpaceX made history. Its Falcon 9 rocket sent two NASA astronauts – Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley – into space from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.  
• It was a historic moment for a lot of reasons.
• It was the first time that NASA sent its astronauts in a private rocket, and for SpaceX it was the first such mission.
• But the flight did more than create history – it marked the beginning of new era in the privatization of space.

• The primary goal of SpaceX has always been to hit Mars since its inception, but the organization is engaged in non-space-related ventures on Earth as well, such as the high-speed Hyperloop travel concept.
• Musk's Boring Company tunnel-digging and traffic-mitigating companies still work primarily in Southern California from SpaceX headquarters.
• In the decades to come we might see many more players enter the space industry, now commonly known as the billionaires’ playground.

Starlink 

• Starlink is the name of a satellite network that SpaceX, a private spaceflight corporation, is creating to provide remote areas with low-cost Internet.
• Although SpaceX ultimately hopes to include as many as 12,000 satellites in this so-called mega constellation, astronomers and amateur skywatchers are flustered by the size and scope of the mission, who worry that the bright, orbiting objects will interfere with universe observations.

• The first 60 Starlink satellites were launched on May 23, 2019, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
• The satellites successfully reached their operational altitude of 340 miles (550 kilometers) — low enough to get pulled down to Earth by atmospheric drag in a few years so that they don't become space junk once they die. 

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