How the U.S. space industry became dependent on SpaceX
The SpaceX is worth 400 billion dollars and is critical for US space access, but it was not always the center of power.
Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. PayPal developed the first rockets Falcon 1 to challenge existing launch providers using the money earned from the sale of Musk and the new company.
“In fact, there were many starting aviation companies that wanted to enter this market. They noticed that we had a monopoly provider called United Launch Alliance. Boeing And Lockheed The rocket launched a capacity for a company and Lori Garver, former NASA’s assistant manager, charges the government hundreds of millions of dollars to start the satellites.
In 2003, Musk crossed the streets of Falcon 1 on the streets of Washington, hoping to attract the attention of state institutions and millions of dollars of contracts. He worked and in 2004, SpaceX won a few million dollars to further improve his rockets from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA and the US Air Force.
Despite government support, the company fought. The first three launch of the Falcon 1 could not reach orbit.
“NASA and especially the first commercial cargo agreement is the thing that saves the company when it is on the verge of bankruptcy,” Chris Quilty, the president and CEO of a space -oriented research company Quilty Space. He said.
NASA gave SpaceX a $ 1.6 billion agreement known as commercial supply services in 2008 only months after the first successful flight of Falcon 1. The contract urged SpaceX to use the new rocket Falcon 9, with the dragon capsule to ferry cargoes and 12 mission to use materials to the international space station. In 2014, SpaceX won another NASA agreement worth $ 2.6 billion to develop and operate astronauts from the international space station and the international space station.
Today, SpaceX dominates most of the space market from the launch of satellites. According to Brycetech, a science and technology consultancy company, in 2024, SpaceX made a 134 orbit launch that broke more than twice the launch of the launch by China Aviation Science and Technology Corporation, the next most productive launch provider. This 134 launch constituted 83% of the entire spacecraft released last year. According to the July Report BloombergSpaceX’s value was $ 400 billion.
SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule and Falcon 9 rocket are the primary tools in which NASA launched astronauts and materials to the International Space Station. Starlink satellites of the company have become indispensable to provide internet access to remote areas and allies during the war. The company’s star ship rocket is still the key to the US plan to return to the moon, even though it is still in the test. SpaceX also creates a spy satellite network for the US government as part of the $ 1.8 billion contract, Starshield. Even competitors, including Amazon and Oneweb, launched their satellites at SpaceX Rockets.
“Space ecosystem was really changed by SpaceX.” Garver said. He said. “The lower cost of access to space is doing what we dream of. It creates a community of company with access to space around the world.”
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