Cutting the cost of getting to Mars: the rise of SpaceX

Not so long ago, space travel was strictly the preserve of governments, thanks in part to the advanced technology required but principally due to just how colossally expensive space travel is. But those days seem to be gone. There are more billionaires in the world today than in previous eras, men who literally have more money than they know what to do with. And some, it seems, have decided to spend those fortunes on rockets.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, now officially the world’s richest man, has been funding spaceflight firm Blue Originfor more than 15 years now. ts rival Virgin Galacticis slightly younger, having been founded in 2004 by (you won’t be surprised to hear) Richard Branson. But the current headline-hogger in the private spaceflight sector is undoubtedly SpaceX.

Aiming for Mars

Formally known as the ‘Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, SpaceX was founded in 2001 by high profile South African billionaire Elon Musk. He had made a fortune after helping to establishonline money transfer giant PayPal. Later he would also become closely involved in creation of electric car manufacturer Tesla.

SpaceX was established with the ambitious goals of both reducing the costs of space travel and encouraging the colonisation of Mars. Musk has discussed the latter topic on TV talk shows.

His original motivation had been to revive public interest in the idea of space travel and persuade the US government to boost funding for NASA. Following a failed trip to Russia in search of cheap rockets, Musk decided to make the hardware himself after concluding that the cost of the raw materials only amounted to a small percentage of the overall cost of a rocket. By manufacturing everything in house, making maximum use of interchangeable parts, Musk eventually managed to cut the cost of each rocket by a factor of ten while remaining profitable.

In addition, the firm has made a significant effort to develop reusable rocket technology – in stark contrast to the old school, use-once-and-burn-away approach. SpaceX has succeeded in re-landing more than 20 launch boosters to date.

Reusing rockets

From relatively humble beginnings in a Californian warehouse with  a staff of just 160, SpaceX has grown in with its interplanetary ambitions. It now has in excess of 6,000 employees. It might have expanded still further but, Elon Musk has explained, the US government restricts the number of non-American citizens who can work on rocket technology, regarding this as the equivalent of advanced weaponry.

SpaceX now earns around $12 billion a year in revenue conducting contract launches for both private business partners and budget-strapped NASA, for whom it has succeeded in driving down launch costs. Meanwhile Musk still has his eyes fixed on the long-term goal of Mars, announcing last year that the company is actively developing large scale spacecraft. The first uncrewed cargo ships are scheduled to reach the red planet in 2022.