Of the billions of trillions of planets in the observable universe, we are nothing more than a spec in space. Humans have been gifted the ability to think and develop complex equations to find solutions to our problems. There are six major private space companies, according to space.com with the capacity to explore and conduct scientific research in space. With time and resources, these companies should benefit society through research, entertainment, and provide alternate planetary real estate.
Each company has their own strengths and weaknesses. Space X is a solid company founded by Elon Musk who currently has unmanned missions through NASA, and hopes that within a few years they will be sending crews into space with their new rocket “the dragon”
- Orbital sciences is currently on NASA payroll for unmanned missions, and is considering revamping one of their rockets in order to have manned missions. ‘
- Blue origin, founded by Jeff Beezos is more secretive in their plans. However they just received a 3.9 billion dollars from NASA to build escape pods for astronauts after revealing their suborbital vehicle, “The Shepherd”.
- Bigelow aerospace has made incredible grounds in inflatable space technology. The founder, Robert Bigelow plans to embark to the moon for his own private moon base. The technology plan to be utilized more for space stations than aircraft.
The most promising company, in my opinion is Virgin Galactic. They are the only air-launched vehicle in the group, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo vehicle is still just a suborbital vehicle designed for space tourism jaunts into space. The company envisions launching paying passengers on suborbital thrill rides for about $200,000 per seat. The huge WhiteKnightTwo aircraft or “mother ship” could be modified to launch small rockets or satellites for NASA or other users. This has significant applications and potential for present and future use.
Future Research Question: How have we already benefited from space exploration?
Future Research Question: How have we already benefited from space exploration?
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