SpaceX Hits Its Stride
SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket
Lift off for SpaceX: Commercial deals show it can compete internationally
Florida Today
It’s too early to say if this success means the California company better known as SpaceX is NASA’s best hope for the commercial development of space, which appears to be the approach set for the future direction of the U.S. space effort.
However, the contract awards for the 7-year-old SpaceX show that a U.S. launch enterprise can compete in the international launch market.
Following its launch of Malaysia’s 400-pound RazakSAT satellite into low-Earth orbit in mid-July, SpaceX won a contract to loft 18 satellites, weighing 330 pounds each, for ORBCOMM of New Jersey. It also signed a deal to launch an Earth observation satellite for European aerospace giant EADS Astrium.
In both cases, SpaceX won in open competition on the world launch market, which includes several government-supported launch companies and a couple of established U.S. companies who rely heavily on the U.S. government and military business.
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One response to “SpaceX Hits Its Stride”
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I must give them credit. When I first heard of SpaceX I was surprised to see that there were a bunch of Americans who were actually trying to compete with Russia. I just hope that Russia can give them a run for their money.