Scramble for the suborbital space is quickly gaining pace, with nations and businesses, both small and large each jostling to have a position. Analysts believe it is positive as private rockets and space stations open up orbital access to countries, companies, and individuals. With adequate financial resources, they can keep away from the political and budgetary perils of setting up their own space programs. Besides, they can afford a space taxi, book accommodation on space stations, or secure cargo room for satellite, experiments, or instruments, all for a relative pittance. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation is one of the companies maximizing this technological evolution to make commercial gains.
Background and history of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation
Popularly known as SpaceX, the aerospace company was founded in 2002 by space enthusiast Elon Musk. He was working on an experimental greenhouse on Mars, but his efforts to buy rockets from Russia to accomplish his project proved futile due to the space aircraft's high pricing (Chang, 2016). This state of affairs inspired him to device cheaper transportation to enhance space exploration, and thus SpaceX was born (Chang, 2016). The company was first incorporated in El Segundo, California but later relocated its headquarters to Hawthorne, California, where it is based to date.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
SpaceX has grown rapidly in every aspect, including the workforce, from 168 employees in 2005 to 8,000 by May 2020 (Thiel, 2020). Today, the business is worth $36 billion in shareholder wealth and makes billions of dollars in annual revenue (Thiel, 2020). Besides, it is considered the leading player in the spaceflight industry, owing to its unique contributions and accomplishments. The company has had more than 100 launches and boasts several achievements, including being the first private company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft (Mann, 2020). In just under two decades, the company has moved from an underdog to dominate the industry, overtaking traditional industry players such as Space Services Inc.
SpaceX business Model
SpaceX deals in specialized spaceflight products such as government national security missions and commercial satellite launches. Consequently, it has a specialized client segment, hence a niche business model (Tartar & Qiu, 2018). Some of the company’s specific clients include the United States Airforce, OrbComm, and MDA Corporation (Tartar & Qiu, 2018). The company also markets its products and services to private and public institutions that need to ferry cargo to space.
The key elements behind SpaceX’s success
Innovation: In a 2018 conference in Vancouver, the company’s COO Gwynne Shotwell went on record, saying that part of its success has been its innovation and ability to develop rockets from scratch without following any predetermined technology (Berke, 2018). This way, they can develop the best products not built after other designs but designed to fit the latest industry needs.
Affordable pricing: Right from its inception, one of the company's key objectives was to make space transportation affordable. While its competitors are busy working on heavy rockets to achieve economies of scale, SpaceX invests in smaller spacecrafts that sell for as little as $250,000 (Tartar & Qiu, 2018). Due to this, it has a legacy of building the most affordable rockets.
Technology: The company leverages some of the best and latest technology. Consequently, it was the first aerospace company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft (Ralph, 2020). This makes it unmatched by other industry players.
In conclusion, the success story of SpaceX is one that befits the description "extraordinary revolution." Starting from scratch and rising quickly to overtake established industry players in just a decade is commendable. What is more, the company has revolutionized the industry by making space transportation more affordable and setting a record in the reuse of orbital-class launch vehicles.
References
Berke, J. (2018). SpaceX's president revealed a key element that has made Elon Musk's rocket company so successful . Business Insider. Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-president-ted-2018-4
Chang, K. (2016). Elon Musk’s Plan: Get Humans to Mars, and Beyond . Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-mars-exploration.html
Mann, A. (2020). SpaceX now dominates rocket flight, bringing big benefits—and risks—to NASA . Science | AAAS. Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/spacex-now-dominates-rocket-flight-bringing-big-benefits-and-risks-nasa
Ralph, E. (2020). SpaceX's 99th Falcon launch checks off the new rocket booster reuse record . TESLARATI. Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-100th-launch-rocket-reuse-milestone/v
Tartar, A., & Qiu, Y. (2018). The New Rockets Racing to Make Space Affordable . Bloomberg. Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-rocket-cost/
Thiel, P. (2020). Elon Musk . Forbes. Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/?sh=1781c9967999
