How SpaceX Is CRUSHING NASA
Imagine hopping on a spacecraft to spend Christmas with your friends and families up there on Mars.
Then you all decide to celebrate the New Year by having some lunar fun
on earth's moon before eventually returning to planet earth. This might seem like a story
from a science fiction movie, but it is becoming a reality much sooner than you
could have expected. The surprising thing is that NASA won't be the one doing it;
it would be a privately owned corporation — SpaceX! Before you question my sanity,
wait and watch this video till the end and see the glaring proofs for yourself. Quick fun fact:
SpaceX is the first privately owned company in the world to send astronauts (NASA's astronauts)
to orbit. You probably might find it hard to believe the pace at which SpaceX is beginning
to crush NASA in the world of Spaceflight. So, get in and strap down as we take a flight to Space X!
In times already past, NASA used to be the foremost American space devoted organization.
And sincerely, it has a record number of space successes as a leading frontier in
the business of space voyage and in advancing man's dream of reaching out to the stars. But,
as of 2021, its long-standing flight practices and processes are already being replaced by much
more technologically advanced privately-owned companies that use state-of-the-art equipment
and innovations. There are at least four such companies in the U.S., but the pack leader
is none other than Space Exploration Technologies otherwise known as SpaceX. And today, we will be
looking at how SpaceX has and continues to outperform NASA in several areas where their
goals overlap. But, just before we do that, let's take a very brief look at SpaceX bio.
Brief Information on SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is Elon Musk's owned private rocket company
based in Hawthorne, California. Created less than two decades ago (2002 precisely),
it has become a pace-setter in the world of Spaceflight and exploration.
It has a strong partnership with NASA with a contractual agreement between the two.
SpaceX helps NASA deliver massive payloads and its astronaut to orbit while NASA pays for the
services. NASA has had to rely on and pay the Russians hefty prices to get a spot on their
spacecraft since 2011. But with the emergence of privately-owned American rocket companies like
SpaceX, NASA can now launch into space more routinely and at dramatically lower prices.
What else would you expect when you put together a Visionary, three rockets,
and a workforce of 1,500 brilliant individuals? So, in what way(s) is SpaceX outperforming NASA?
A. COST OF ROCKET DEVELOPMENT
One area in which SpaceX has outsmarted both NASA and every other government-owned and privately
owned rocket-building company in the world is in how much it costs to develop a rocket.
While private companies such as SpaceX rarely publish the total cost of developing a rocket,
we know for sure how much they charge their customers, including NASA, for needing to
use their rockets to launch payloads. The cost of developing NASA's Saturn V and SLS
is accessible to the public since these rockets were manufactured using taxpayers' money.
In essence, NASA has spent about $4.8 billion so far in making its Space Launch System (SLS). And,
the cost keeps increasing against the original budget due to missed timelines.
On the other hand, Space X spends less time developing and launching its rockets,
such as the recently launched Falcon Heavy, which costs about $500 million to build. Yeah, you might
want to argue that NASA's SLS, which can lift 130 metric tons, has the capability of launching
greater payloads than SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, which can carry just about 63.5 metric tons.
Do the simple math: SpaceX spent only $500 million in launching 63.5 metric tons, while
NASA has already burned $4.8 billion in being able to lift 130 metric tons, which is almost twice the
payload of Falcon Heavy! But, how did SpaceX achieve this massive cut on production cost?
It is because it developed exceptionally brilliant and cost-effective ideas which work! These ideas
include the reduced cost in engine development and simulation, use of robotics workforce,
in-house manufacturing, friction stir welding, and use of reusable boosters. In all of these and
more, SpaceX has outperformed NASA. Let's briefly consider each and why it is so.
1. Engine Development and Simulation: Developing a rocket engine is undoubtedly
part of any rocket that eats up the most money. This is because rocket engines are
composed of several delicate components prone to failure at the slightest mistake or oversight.
So, what's the difference between SpaceX and NASA? NASA employs the old-fashioned model of
physically testing each component of the rocket engine. This means producing several structural
components since many will get burned during testing until they get it just right. After that,
they pick up another component of the engine and do the same thing repeatedly. On the other hand,
SpaceX exploits supercomputers' benefits which can correctly simulate the same testing protocol
without the disadvantage of stacks of burned hardware.
Furthermore, there is also the advantage of already tested computer simulation data
such that the data can be used for future engine components. This eliminates the
need for individual physical testing every time there's the need to build an engine.
2. Use of Automation and Robotic Workforce: Another thing NASA is getting wrong and partly
responsible for why SpaceX is outperforming them relates to the use of automation and
robots. Ever since its creation on the 1st of October 1958, NASA has continued to rely heavily
on human resources alone. Everything, including every stage of inspection,
as mentioned earlier, is being done physically by engineers. Every rocket needs careful
examination starting from the building of the material components, assemblage in the factory,
transportation of the rocket to the launch pad, and finally, shortly before launch. Unlike NASA,
SpaceX has automated most of these processes. Also automated is its extensive structure welding.
3. Friction Stir Welding: Rockets consume many propellants (fuel). There's a need to build large
tanks needed to hold the fuel required. Other significant parts of the rockets need welding.
And welding is one of the significant factors of the increased cost of production.
SpaceX solves this problem by mostly automating its unique welding process
known as friction stir welding. The welding could run up to 20 feet (6.1 m) and even more. This
helps the joining of large metal sheets for safe and cost-effective production.
4. Streamlined Structural Development: Rockets aren't costly simply because they use materials
that are so scarce or expensive; in fact, they use virtually the same materials as do planes. But, of
course, structural materials do eat up a good deal of a rocket's budget. While NASA has continued to
stick to the use of conventional metals, which they test to every specifications' exactness,
SpaceX aggressively advocated for the benefit of composites over metals.
This allows for increased margin in the variation of material density and strength.
5. In-House Manufacturing: Another factor that has helped push SpaceX ahead of NASA is
its brilliant idea of in-house manufacturing. Unlike NASA, which contracts other companies,
including companies like SpaceX, to help build some of its rocket systems,
Elon Musk decided from the very beginning that his company was going to try producing
everything by itself. As a result, SpaceX makes between 80 and 90% of all its electronics,
boosters, engines, rockets, launch pads, etc. This helps to save up massively on cost
while also helping reduce timelines. The hallmark of efficiency is being self-reliant and not being
dependent on hundreds of contractors. NASA is not the only one guilty of this inefficiency.
Other private companies such as United Launch Alliance also depend on 1,200 contractors.
B. REDUCED LAUNCH COST SpaceX not only outperforms NASA in the area
of rocket production, but it has also beaten NASA and other privately-owned and government-owned
rocket institutions in the area of cost of launching a rocket into space. Apart from all
the unique production features discussed earlier, it also employs an ingenious design for its rocket
boosters. SpaceX is the first and still the only Rocket Company or Institution in the world to use
reusable rocket boosters. Conventional rocket boosters are used only once. When a rocket
is launched, and the booster has provided the needed force capable of sending the rocket out
of the reach of earth's gravity, the booster is detached, and it becomes useless. However, SpaceX
has changed this convention; it employs reusable boosters. When it has propelled the rocket out of
earth's gravity, the booster returns to earth and lands on a drone ship in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean. The Falcon 9 rocket boosters have been successfully reused and landed at sea
at least seven times. That is an impressive record that keeps counting. SpaceX handles two-third of
all NASA's payload launches due to its reduction in launch cost. Charging just $62 million for
every launch, they've successfully beaten the price of their competitors by at least two-thirds!
Two decades ago, even ten years back, it would have been thought impossible that a
privately-owned spacecraft company could compete with and even crush the Almighty
NASA in several ways. But, in 2021, it is not only imaginable; SpaceX has done it and keeps doing it!
Do you agree with Elon Musk's vision that we will colonize Mars for man's
habituation during his lifetime? Tell us in the comments below! Make
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