SpaceX is an American based space manufacturer and transporter company situated in California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the primary goal of making technologies that will ease costs incurred during space transportation as well as enabling exploration into planet Mars. SpaceX is developing various space vehicles such as the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 which are reusable. Also, the have the Dragon spacecraft, which is launched by the Falcon 9 into the orbit so that it can supply the International Space Station with freight. This has been made possible through funding by various governmental contracts and subsidies (Seedhouse, 2013). The vision of the founder, Musk has always been to enable affordable space travels for ordinary civilian, and despite numerous setbacks, he is still determined to realize this dream.
The
...first step in achieving the dream of space travels was through developing a reusable space vehicle since this was the major stride in reducing the cost of accessing space. During a launch, a majority of the cost incurred was for manufacturing of the space vehicle which is only used once per every travel. This is not profitable because when compared to a commercial airline, the airplane is used multiple times before being decommissioned. Consequently, Musk came with the idea of having a reusable Falcon 9 which costs the same price as other space vehicles. Most of the space rockets burn up upon re-entry into space, but with the Falcon 9, it enters and makes its way back to the launch pad awaiting next mission (SpaceX, 2015). This is a significant step in making space travels more frequently and easily accessible, and this will
increase Mars exploration.
The major setback to hit the SpaceX Company was an explosion of its Falcon 9 rocket upon launching. This marked as a significant blow not only to their space travel projects, but also to the commercial space industry at large (Xinhua, 2016). This destruction led to the loss of a lot of property in millions more so the satellites that were meant to be launched on that fateful weekend. With this accident, many critics got more prove to be pessimistic about commercializing space travel, and this went down to the public too. Such a setback would also discourage other entrepreneurs to invest on such explorations, and despite this project being profitable, it cannot be executed without mass support. Also, another setback that the SpaceX would encounter is the issues with ethics as set by the Outer Space Treaty. This treaty is also adopted by the United Nations, and it prohibits pollution of the extra-terrestrial bodies through human activities (Lee, 2012).
Despite the setback, the company still maintains its primary mission on commercial space travels. It intends to explore Mars so that in the long run, they can be able to send colonies into Mars using their space ships. SpaceX has managed this, and they are building the largest rocket that can carry 100 people per trip to Mars and be able to make safe landing back to earth. This interplanetary transportation will help us establish a permanent colony that can sustain itself.
In conclusion, Elon Musk is an ideal person, and he has proved that through his success in business and innovation. Therefore, there is still hope that one day he will manage to commercialize
space journeys.
References
- Lee, R. J. (2012). Law and regulation of commercial mining of minerals in outer space. Dordrecht: Springer.
- Seedhouse, E. (2013). SpaceX: Making Commercial spaceflight a reality. New York: Springer.
- SpaceX. (2015). Reusability: The Key to Making Human Life Multi-Planetary. Retrieved from http://www.spacex.com/news/2013/03/31/reusability-key-making-human-life-multi-planetary
- Xinhua. (2016). SpaceX rocket explosion setbacks for commercial space. Retrieved from http://www.china.org.cn/world/2016-09/02/content_39215337.htm
- Electronics essays
- Computer Science essays
- Consumer Electronics essays
- Enterprise Technology essays
- Hardware essays
- Robot essays
- engineering essays
- people search essays
- Modern Technology essays
- Impact of Technology essays
- Cloud Computing essays
- Operating Systems essays
- Information Technology essays
- Data Analysis essays
- Information Age essays
- Smartphone essays
- Cell Phones essays
- Camera essays
- Computer essays
- Ipod essays
- Mobile Phones essays
- 3g essays
- Bluetooth essays
- Cell Phones in School essays
- Computer File essays
- Desktop Computer essays
- Servers essays
- Data collection essays
- Graphic Design essays
- Data Mining essays
- Cryptography essays
- Internet essays
- Network Security essays
- Android essays
- Computer Security essays
- World Wide Web essays
- Website essays
- Computer Network essays
- Application Software essays
- Computer Programming essays
- Computer Software essays
- Benchmark essays
- Information Systems essays
- Email essays
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol essays
- Marshall Mcluhan essays
- Virtual Learning Environment essays
- Web Search essays
- Etiquette essays
- Mainstream essays
