The Falcon 9:  The Industry Standard Set by SpaceX.

January 26th, 2022

Dustin Rethelford

SpaceX, with Elon Musk at the helm, has made many advancements in rocket technology since their early trials in the 2000s.  With the idea to make rockets reusable, to what seems to be at an endless degree, SpaceX set out to make space travel more affordable than ever before.  With that idea, the conclusion was made that the rockets had to be reusable, not just the rocket itself, but the engines and components within the first stage, which is the main stage that propels the rocket to space.  This would include ensuring that the first and second stages of the rocket used the same propulsion and engines to ease cost and increase interchangeability.

SpaceX has succeeded beyond measure.  Even more impressive is that SpaceX is a privately owned company, which helps eliminate the inefficient and expensive contracts that the government often finds themselves in with NASA and companies like the Lockheed Martin and Boeing.  They claim that it costs around $57 million to launch a Falcon 9, about $2,500 per pound with the hopes of bring that down to around $1,000 per pound with the Falcon Heavy.  The United Launch Alliance, consisting of Boeing and Lockheed Martin is expected to cost around $380 million per launch.  Even China's low-cost Long March rocket cannot beat SpaceX's low cost per launch.  The advancements that SpaceX has made in rocket technology and reusability has the rest of the world scratching their, often wondering if it is even sustainable.  Now in 2022, SpaceX has an unparalleled track record that no company has been able to match.  Their endless hours of research and technological advancements have worked and has left the rest of the industry playing catchup.

Chaikin, A. (January, 2012). Is SpaceX Changing the Rocket Equiation?  Smithsonian Magazine.  Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/is-spacex-changing-the-rocket-equation-132285884/