In the past, launching satellites or other spacecraft into space was a matter of cooperation between government agencies and large aerospace contractors. However, this has become history. In the past 20 years, private space start-ups have proved that they can compete with their larger counterparts, and in some cases even seize the limelight.
The best proof is SpaceX, a space exploration technology company under Elon Musk. Today, SpaceX has the ability to recycle the first stage rocket and reuse it for many times, which is simply a scene in science fiction. In 2020, SpaceX will also become the first private company to send astronauts into space. At present, SpaceX is building a huge new rocket system, which is expected to send humans to Mars one day.
Looking at these incredible feats, you may wonder whether NASA is still needed; Or think that NASA and SpaceX are competing with each other. But in reality, the two organizations do very different things, and rely on each other to succeed.
What does SpaceX do?
SpaceX is a private company Tesla Under the leadership of CEO Mask, two rockets are currently manufactured and launched: Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. The boosters of these rockets can usually be recycled, refurbished and reused. This not only saves money, but also reduces the service price of SpaceX, thus gaining a competitive advantage.
SpaceX also built and launched the "Dragon Spaceship", a capsule that can transport crew members and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). Finally, SpaceX also plans to use the "Dragon Spacecraft" to transport "private astronauts" (non NASA astronauts).
In addition, SpaceX is studying a large rocket and spacecraft system called "Starship", which can transport huge payloads into space. "Starship" may eventually send people to live permanently on Mars.
In addition, SpaceX has also deployed a famous large satellite network called Starlink, which aims to provide high-speed Internet access services for the world. At present, the number of these satellites is about 1000. Due to the fear that they may cause "light pollution" and interfere with astronomical research, the project has also caused some controversy.
How is the SpaceX project progressing?
The predecessor of "Starship" is the "Large Falcon Rocket" (BFR). According to SpaceX's plan, "Starship" will eventually replace its main rocket, "Falcon 9", to carry out cargo missions and eventually carry astronauts to the moon and Mars.
On January 6, 2019, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, exposed the simulation image of "Starship" on social media. In February 2020, the "Starship" prototype SN1 exploded in a liquid nitrogen pressure test. Since then, SpaceX has been testing the "Starship" prototype, and has now tested to "SN9". This week, SpaceX also launched the SN10 test.
Although the "Starship" is still under test, Musk has made a grand plan. In January 2020, Musk proposed the goal of building 100 "starships" every year. When the Earth and Mars orbits are synchronized, about 100000 people will be sent from the Earth to Mars.
Musk was Twitter It said: "We will build 100 'starships' every year, and the number can reach 1000 within 10 years, which means that the annual transport capacity can reach 100 million tons. When the Earth and Mars orbit are synchronized, about 100000 people can be sent to Mars at the same time." This means that 1 million people are expected to land on Mars before 2050.
As for the "Star Chain" project, at the end of October last year, SpaceX took the lead in launching the "Star Chain" test service in parts of the United States and Canada. According to the feedback of test users, the trial speed of "Star Link" has exceeded 160 Mbps, exceeding 95% of the broadband connections in the United States. The network speed of most test users is within the range of 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps given by SpaceX.
In January this year, SpaceX launched the "Star Chain" service in the UK. From 2019 to 2024, SpaceX plans to use five years to send thousands of satellites needed for networking into low Earth orbit to form a "star chain" network to provide Internet services. By the end of January this year, SpaceX had about 955 "star chain" satellites in orbit.
What does NASA do?
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States) is a taxpayer funded U.S. government agency with more than ten offices in the United States. NASA reports to the executive branch of the government, and the director of NASA is appointed by the President. Congress legislates to authorize NASA's activities and provides its annual budget.
NASA's budget is formulated through a political process and is not evenly distributed. Nearly half of NASA's budget goes to manned space programs. For the public, the most prominent of these projects is the International Space Station (ISS), a permanent manned multinational space laboratory located in low Earth orbit. NASA is also trying to send astronauts to the moon and Mars through its Artemis project.
About one third of NASA's budget goes to its science sector, which includes planetary science, earth science, astrophysics and solar physics. NASA launches space missions to study and explore planets and other worlds, study Earth's climate, answer basic questions about the nature of the universe, and study the sun.
NASA also conducts aerospace research and funds various space technology development efforts. Research shows that NASA has provided a wide range of social and economic benefits for the United States.
How does SpaceX and NASA compete?
There is no competition between them. SpaceX is a for-profit company, while NASA is a taxpayer funded entity that can freely pursue scientific discoveries that are not directly related to economic benefits.
The competition between SpaceX and NASA is usually related to the "Artemis Project" of NASA. In 2004, President George W. Bush announced a plan to decommission the space shuttle and return humans to the surface of the moon. This led to the birth of the crew capsule called Orion and the rocket that eventually evolved into the Space Launch System (SLS).
Orion and SLS were created by aerospace companies Lockheed Martin (Lockheed Martin) and Boeing (Boeing), and these two companies in turn use their own private suppliers and subcontractors. These devices are assembled in the center of NASA under the guidance of NASA, and the final products belong to NASA. These projects have created tens of thousands of high paying jobs in the construction site, and have received strong political support from local representatives of the Congress.
The development of SLS and Orion lags behind the plan and exceeds the budget. At the same time, SpaceX has grown from a small start-up company to a strong competitor of traditional airlines. Although SpaceX also often misses the timeline, its supporters believe that SLS and Orion are too expensive, and based on traditional technologies, these technologies have been surpassed by "Starship" and other aircraft.
Advocates of SLS and Orion point out that these aircraft ensure that the United States has the ability to send larger payloads and humans into space. For example, although private companies can build quite large cruise ships, the United States government is still building and owning aircraft carriers.
NASA's official position is that SLS and Orion are the best vehicles to send humans to the moon. In addition, NASA cannot change its course without the necessary political support. In contrast, SpaceX is not responsible for anyone except Elon Musk. It can promote the development of interstellar spacecraft to meet Musk's goal of sending humans to Mars.
How does SpaceX rely on NASA?
Without NASA's investment, today's private spaceflight would be a different scene. In 2006, NASA began to invest in private space companies, hoping that they could one day provide cargo and crew transportation services for the International Space Station. SpaceX was one of the first companies to receive funding from NASA when it was only four years old. It is reported that NASA has paid about half the cost of developing the Falcon 9 rocket, the main component of SpaceX.
In 2008, SpaceX won a multi billion dollar contract to transport goods to the International Space Station. Without NASA, SpaceX would have been on the verge of bankruptcy and would probably have run out of funds. Today, although SpaceX earns revenue from many customers, a large part of its capital comes from transporting crew and cargo to the International Space Station and launching NASA scientific spacecraft. In addition, SpaceX also transports payloads for another taxpayer funded entity, the United States Department of Defense.
How does NASA rely on SpaceX?
When the 2011 shuttle program ended, NASA was not ready to replace it. Despite seven years of preparation time, NASA never obtained the necessary funds to complete the construction of the International Space Station, develop new manned spacecraft and rocket systems, and at the same time continue to use the space shuttle (by the end of the shuttle's life, the annual cost is 3.5 billion US dollars)
NASA foresaw the need for alternative solutions for transporting cargo and crew to the International Space Station, so it turned to the aerospace industry and made a new proposal : Instead of paying other companies to make NASA owned aircraft in NASA owned facilities, NASA should pay some companies to make their own aircraft and then buy flights on these aircraft. What will happen?
In 2008, NASA signed contracts with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences (now Northrop Grumman) to build their own cargo spaceships and send them to the International Space Station. The plan worked: less than a year after the completion of the space shuttle project, SpaceX's "Dragon Spacecraft" had its first commercial docking with the International Space Station. In 2020, SpaceX became the first private company to send NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
Without SpaceX, the only American company capable of delivering "goods" to the International Space Station will be Northrop Grumman, Then NASA's "crew" transportation will still rely on the Russian "Soyuz" spacecraft.
What cooperation does SpaceX have with NASA?
In 2008, NASA signed a contract with SpaceX to make its own cargo spacecraft and send it to the International Space Station.
In 2012, less than a year after the completion of the space shuttle project, SpaceX's "Dragon Spaceship" made its first commercial docking with the International Space Station, successfully delivering "supplies" to the International Space Station, opening a new era of private aerospace. As of February 2019, SpaceX has cooperated with NASA on 16 International Space Station replenishment missions.
In May 2020, SpaceX launched the first manned "Dragon Spaceship" using the "Falcon 9" carrier rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, successfully sending NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station.
This is a significant launch for both NASA and SpaceX. Since the retirement of NASA's space shuttle in 2011, this is the first manned space launch mission in the United States, marking the recovery of the United States' ability to send humans into space. At the same time, this is the first manned space launch mission since SpaceX was founded 18 years ago. This marks the beginning of a new era of space exploration, which is also a new era led by commercial companies.
Recently, NASA announced that in 2022, two astronauts will fly to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX "Dragon Spacecraft", which will be the fourth crew rotation flight of the "Dragon Spacecraft". NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines have been assigned to this mission and will serve as commander and pilot respectively.
In February this year, NASA also announced that SpaceX has been selected to launch the "SPHEREx" telescope. The "SPHEREx" project is a two-year astrophysical mission, which began in 2024 and plans to put the space telescope SPHEREx into orbit. The project will cost NASA about 98.8 million dollars.
NASA said that SPHEREx will observe the sky in near infrared light that cannot be seen by human eyes, and the data it collects will help astronomers understand the evolution of the universe and the formation of galaxies.
Why NASA and SpaceX are needed at the same time?
NASA's support for SpaceX and other companies has reshaped the pattern of the U.S. aerospace industry. The deep-rooted aviation contractors who have traditionally had little or no competition now pay more attention to new technologies that can reduce aerospace costs. American companies are now competing for the global launch market. NASA also benefits from having multiple U.S. and global partners to launch spacecraft and transport crew and cargo to the International Space Station.
SpaceX helped to rekindle public interest in space flight. The company has made excellent use of live broadcast technology, making every rocket launch and landing an exciting thing. The interest in what SpaceX does (usually in cooperation with NASA) has inspired a new generation to pursue an exciting space career.
But humans still need NASA, which does more than just put astronauts into orbit. There is no business case for launching a spacecraft to Pluto or landing on Mars to look for signs of past life. Space exploration and scientific discovery require long-term public support and investment, and mankind may even have a moral obligation to explore the universe. NASA is also much larger, spending tens of billions of dollars on hundreds of major projects every year, while SpaceX only spends millions of dollars on a few projects.
Space exploration shows the best of humanity. When NASA and other government agencies cooperate with SpaceX and other private companies, both parties will benefit.
