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SpaceX is racking up victories this year, bolstering its role as the foremost space companies operating in the United States today – and putting pressure on the rest of the industry in a new era of spaceflight.
Why is this important: Instead of being the youngster who broke all the rules, SpaceX is now making the rules for other companies involved in the industry.
- But as SpaceX shifts from start-up to established leader, and space companies that have been around for decades attempt to modernize, it’s unclear how – and how quickly – the space industry will channel its growth.
What is happening: SpaceX uprooted the idea of what an aerospace company can and should be, working on low margins and achieving feats – like landing orbital rocket boosters and repackaging them – that were previously the domain of science – fiction.
So far this year, SpaceX has launched 13 missions into orbit.
- The company’s most resounding success was the launch and landing of its first crewed mission for NASA, bringing human spaceflight back to American soil for the first time in nine years.
- SpaceX has also taken a step ahead of its competitors working to create fleets of satellites that broadcast the Internet into orbit, with more than 500 Starlink spacecraft launched to date.
- The company’s prototype spacecraft – which will someday be SpaceX’s interplanetary vehicle – flew successfully and landed on a test flight this summer.
- SpaceX also won a huge contract to launch military satellites in the 2020s.
The big picture: At the same time, SpaceX is going through the growing difficulties of a company moving from one phase of its life in the industry to another.
- Instead of being the new company on the block, SpaceX is now serving as a model for many of the space startups that are coming onto the scene today.
- Due to their position in the industry, “they [SpaceX] must always be their best. They have to be on, “Eric Stallmer, president of the Federation of Commercial Spaceflight, told Axios.” They will be more and more scrutinized. “
- SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Yes, but: The inertia of the space industry is immense, and it is not yet clear if SpaceX has the momentum to propel the rest of the industry into its vision for the future.
- Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and other companies have been involved in the industry for decades longer than SpaceX, and their ties to the government – still the industry’s biggest customer – run particularly deep.
- Last week, Musk was sniped at United Launch Alliance on Twitter after the two companies won huge national security contracts, denying the founder’s continuing frustration with the sustainability of the Boeing-Lockheed Martin initiative.
And after: SpaceX is expected to perform more test flights of its spacecraft in the coming year, further proving the spacecraft.
- SpaceX also has more crewed missions on the books, including a NASA crew flight set to launch to the International Space Station in October.
- The company has redefined what a rocket can be, space analyst Phil Smith of Bryce Space and Technology told Axios. “Let’s not exaggerate what they [rockets] are, and let’s rethink how to transport mail. And they did. “
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