SpaceX or Space Exploration Technologies Corporation has successfully registered itself in the history books by becoming the first private spaceflight company to build and launch its own rockets and even space capsules to the International Space Station and return them to Earth in 2008, only government agencies like NASA could accomplish that before SpaceX. The company continued to accomplish impressive projects since then from unmanned cargo vehicles sending to the International Space Station to winning contract from NASA to fly astronauts as early as 2017.
Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the aim to reduce transportation costs I the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has launched a variety of satellites to orbit and then recovering the first stage of resusable Falcon 9 rocket which settled itself under the power of its own engine, just six miles from the Capeaveral Launch pad.
So here’s some unknown facts about the Elon Musk’s owned SpaceX:
- SpaceX launched its first Falcon 1 launch in March 2006, which began successfully but unfortunately did not succeed because of a fuel leak and fire.
- SpaceX launched the unmanned Dragon space capsules on the company’s Falcon 9 rockets sending four astronauts in International Space Station in 2012. Musk stated that he named the spacecraft “Dragon” after “Puff the Magic Dragon” from the hit l music group song Peter, Paul and Mary. Musk also claimed that he named it because his critics believed that his goals are impossible.
- SpaceX launched largest satellite constellation in the world Starlink constellation in 2020 to provide high-speed internet access all over the globe. The company is planning to launch 4,000 broadband satellites for the same purpose.
- The first test flight of Dragon capsule in December 2010 carried a wheel of cheese into orbit. The official directed the audience to think it carried special cargo and didn’t unveiled the truth until the spacecraft returned and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
- The SpaceX series of Falcon rockets — the Falcon 9 boosters and smaller Falcon 1 rockets — are named after the fictional Millenium Falcon spaceship from creator George Lucas’ “Star Wars” movies. The number 9 or 1 represents the number of engines in the spacecraft.
- There were various scene in the movie “Iron Man 2” which were shot in SpaceX’s factory in Hawthorne, Calif. And Elon Musk also played a cameo on screen himself.
- The company is proud of its cost-cutting ideas. According to a report the bill for the Falcon 9 rocket came in at about a third of what NASA would have laid out on the project which helps it to increase its efficiency at lower costs.
- Spacex has ensured its partnership with NASA under the agency’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems program and also sent the American Astronauts from America soil to low-earth orbit in the SpaceX Crew Dragon after a total of 9 years. From the last 9 years NASA was using Russian help by using Soyuz spacecraft to launch astronauts.
- An amateur radio enthusiast and engineer from Ahmedabad, Adhir Saiyadh got a response from the astronauts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon’s spaceship while he was trying to communicate with the International Space Station.
- Musk had to invest his own money in the development of SpaceX rockets as there were no investors willing to believe in his goals and now the company has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA for resupply missions and eventually ferrying people to and from the International Space Station.
- SpaceX is trying to recycle first-stage booster rocket on the Falcon 9 and use it for the next crew launch as it costs about 60% of the total cost. The company works like this, it also reused a rocket stage that returned to Earth in 2016 in a 2017 launch.
- The SpaceX is not working to land their rocket named named “Just Read The Instructions” in honor of a ship from Iain M. Banks’ book series.
- The company is also working on developing a privately funded, fully reusable, super heavy-lift launch system for interplanetary spaceflight named Starship. It will also lead to building bases by SpaceX on Mars and moon.
- The Falcon Heavy having its first flight in 2018 did not carry a satellite but instead it placed a Tesla Roadster into orbit around the Sun with a mannequin in a space suit buckled into the driver’s seat.
- SpaceX launched the first crewed flight of a Dragon capsule to the ISS launched on May 30, 2020 with astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken.
SpaceX, the American Aerospace company was started by a South African who had degrees in business and physics and no further education in rocket sciences. When he founded SpaceX, nobody believed in him and his out of the box thoughts. SpaceX also faced various disastrous setbacks in early years and also various other projects but the company bounced back every time and proved itself. The US space agency is a big milestone in the journey of expanding human explorations to outer space and unreachable locations.
