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Week 11: The future of space travel - SpaceX

He started with PayPal, sold it, then SolarCity, Tesla, SpaceX. Fundamentally different concepts but most revolving around utilising energy sources of different kinds than fossil fuels. Elon Musk’s great adventure is now heading to the stars. He invested 100 million dollars into a project that might not turn out profitable in the long run but for now all eyes are turned into his take on space travel.


One of the newer Tesla models, the Model S. (source: http://www.thecarconnection.com/overview/tesla_model-s_2014)

The goal of SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) is to advance space technology and make humanity become a space-ranked civilisation. Thanks to most advanced technology the company can continue what NASA has been doing for many years but cheaply. The leading purpose is to create a reusable rocket to bring down the cost significantly. Unlike with Tesla, not a lot of what’s created gets patented. The cost of the rocket is about 60 million dollars. The cost of the single-use propellant is “only” about 200 thousand. The end goal is to send people to Mars. Musk is fairly confident that this is possible in the not-so-distant future with about a half a million dollars for a single ticket. In contrast, the Russians used to offer trips to the international space station for 35 million. This idea creates a significant shift in thinking, where space travel is no longer reserved for a handful of people but a possibility to speedup the race for space exploration.


SpaceX’s Dragon moving towards the ISS. (source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/index.html#.Un-_8WRDvB8)

The company did experience problems in the past. Their first vehicle, the Falcon 1, was successfully launched on the fourth try, five years after the planned demonstration date and was retired later. Falcon 9 (rocket) and Dragon (spacecraft) faced similar problems but managed to resupply the space station used by NASA in 2012 and 2013. The price of building each rocked did go up from the initial claims which could indicate that they are having unforeseen technical problems. The U.S. government is divided between the proponents of allowing private companies into space travel and critics. Many say that by dramatically reducing the costs, Musk is endangering the passengers of his shuttles and the missions. His travels do not undergo stringent quality checks due to them being private. On the other hand, he is making progress and a lot of what his company creates is based on already proven technology. Many students are hired and a lot of the parts are produced in-doors to bring the cost down. In-door production has also a disadvantage. It’s more stable in terms of price but might also be more expensive than outsourcing.


Dragon attaching to the ISS. (source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY5h96TXg50)

The plan of SpaceX is very ambitious and the timetable is full for the next few years, involving work for NASA as well as launching satellites for commercial companies. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the profitability and safety of the project. We might see a launch of shuttles with astronauts inside from SpaceX into space soon. Let’s hope that one will go without hiccups.


Elon Musk discussing his projects at an older TED Talks recording. (source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgKWPdJWuBQ)

What do you think? Is further space exploration going to be commercialised? Can we expect space travel to really kick off during our life time?

Comments

This comment has been removed by the author.
I think, during the next 50 years we can be able to traveling in space. Unfortunately the main problem are the conditions in cosmic space. Even if we somehow construct the spacecraft which allow us to economic and fast space travelling, it remains matter to keep alive crew. About living on Mars for example, the main problem will be temperature (because on the surface of this planet average degrees is -140C to 20C ) and we should’ve forget solar radiation. After eliminate this kind of problems, people could be able to safe travel, explore and build new colonies on the far planets.

But here comes out new problem. When we can finally be able to travel in universe, if this trip will be luxury for rich and famous (like today), or will be a common travel like holiday, which almost everybody can take.

For now, we must be patient and awaits for new ideas about space traveling, because we still have a few informations, inventions and experience about this kind of journeys.
Tomek Niezgoda said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tomek Niezgoda said…
It's true that Mars is a difficult target to reach for humans today. It will be a dangerous, one way trip. Commercial travel is already facing criticism due to lack of stringent safety regulations and SpaceX has so far used only unmanned shuttles.
diana said…
I think some kind of break grounding technology needs to be discovered to drastically reduce costs of such travels and building spacecrafts before space travels become popular (even if only among the rich). Therefore it's certainly better to spend public money on such research rather than wars, politics etc, because apart from the space traveling, I'm sure it would also have huge impact on our everyday life.
I hope I'll witness such progress before I die.
Sylwia said…
I think space travels will be commercialized and we will witness it. In fact it is already started. Even if it's available only for the riches ones and not so often it is going to be more and more common. However I completely agree with Diana. To make it available for regular people, we need to drastically reduce cost of it and to do this significant technology improvment have to be invented.
I think that the answer to your question is most definitely yes. The commercialization of space travel is inventible. That’s what happened to all forms of transportation. I found a lot of similarities between space travel and traveling overseas in the past. Of course nowadays traveling over the ocean is available for everyone and we take it as a normal thing. But 2, 3 centuries ago it was a luxury only a few could afford (of course when you are not a slave going to be sold).

But there is a log way ahead of us to achieve space travel available to anyone. First of all we have to figure out some new ways of propulsion. Remember that we are talking about traveling to other planets on a distances hundreds or even thousands times larger than the one we travel nowadays. But I strongly believe that rather sooner than later we will solve this problem. That a trip to the nearest planets will not take us few years like it is nowadays. We just don’t have any other choice. One day in the future (not sometime in the nearest future) we will be forced to leave Mother Earth because it won’t be able to sustain life any more. But until that day come we will definitely solve the problem of deep space travel.

Will it be available to an average person. I am sure it will be. Maybe not in my life time but at the end of this century I’m sure it will be.
Tomek Niezgoda said…
The primary aspect that makes space exploration by private companies possible is better utilization of available funds. This is why NASA took to SpaceX when preparing a mission to the ISS. SpaceX needs all the external support it can get but it also optimizes. The govermement and NASA are afraid that price cuts will affects the safety of astronauts. There is much work to be done before space travels become affordable but, as Elon Musk said, we won't take any of our belongings from Earth so we might as well sell them and get a ticket.
Natalia said…

Of course it is going to be commercialised! If breathing could be it definitely would be. If someone can make money from something it is stupid from their side not to even try. I just hope that we could see that happening, that would be awesome. It is quite possible too, when we are look back what happend 50 years ago and what technology we have now space traveling seems to be quite possible.
Tomek Niezgoda said…
I like your enthusiasm!
Even if what you say is true and companies will eventually dominate space travel, is it a bad thing? Conquering space is not like creating a new product and putting it on the market. I think it will be another revolution, affecting the whole world. Everyone will be involved.
Unknown said…
Oh man. the topic is so long i can keen on writing on it for the rest of my life. for now i can say, it all depends. the biggest problem is that we are not able to invent a dive that can take us to the start, and also we do not have the power source that cn sustain the star dive up and running. The best ide i have heat is antimatter drive, but for now we cannot deal with the gamma radiant it provides, as a side effect.
lukasz-anwajler said…
Space exploration and holidays on Mars? Sure! I can't see one single argument why it shouldn't be possible. I don't know many people who wouldn't want to see the space, it's just the matter of price and the more people who are going to do it, the less price we are going to pay, it also starts competition etc. I'm quite sure that I'll wave to you from some distant planet or spaceship during my lifetime! :)
Unknown said…
I’d love to travel to outer space one day. I hope the Elon Musk’s project will be realized. In today’s world, scientists make unbelievable things, which were impossible not a long time ago. I believe that with space travel will be the same. I think a lot of people dream about such a journey. We are trying to create a world where almost every craving is possible to realize. And make money while doing so… If there is a demand, there will be a supply, in line with Michael Porter’s law. I’ll keep my fingers crossed ☺

When space travel will be as easy as we can see on many science fiction movies, it is bound to be commercialized. Nearly everything in the modern world is commercialized, one way or another. Finding ways to profit from new technologies is basically one of the core reasons research is being conducted at all. To be honest I haven't heard much about SpaceX and so I thank you for bringing this topic up. It's good to read about something new! I'm sure that once achieved, space travel will be more of a luxurious thing for some time, but sooner or later I believe it will become, I dare say it, a daily routine. Unless Earth will be conquered by aliens, of course.
Tomek Niezgoda said…
http://www.virgingalactic.com - I think you should look at this website as well. SpaceX is trying to reach Mars but there are less ambitious projects too. Virgin Galactic will provide suborbital flights.
Unknown said…
I think space exploration for everybody is closer and closer nowadays and we will soon witness space holiday trips :) For sure this is great for science and technology development and everybody will profit with it. Maybe instead of going to ski we will be flying to the moon or even further :D but for our generation is rather science fiction then real chance.
Seisyll said…
Well the only problem we now have is with either fuel or engine. Right now it requires vast amount of fuel to get you off the planet. And with so much fuel you still have to remember where to "take off". The closer to the equator the better. The other thing is that with engines nowadays it will take 260 days to get from Earth to Mars. During that time you have to provide enough resources to get there and get back, which is not a small amount. And that is that. We need better engine and efficient fuel which will allow easy travel from earth to space and fast travel through space. I hope that I will live to see the earth from space myself, but it might take years to create technology which will allow it.
armandstanczak said…
SpaceX & Elon have earned every right to be proud of what's been achieved and what they have done so far. Nowadays with Astronauts talking to little kids, everyine got really interested in the topic. For sure this is great for science and technology development and everybody will profit with it. The best part is that without funding, none of these other companies (NASA i'm looking at You) will get off ground and SpaceX will hold the monopoly. So the whole private sector space traveling will be true, I hope.
tonyon said…
"The religious are the firsts that not belief in God, thus the Inquisition, thus they abuse of the innocents, thus they mislead to the foolish and thus they buy to the folks (Galileo Galilei)"... IT´S TRUTH THAT RELIGION IS LIE

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