SpaceX
So, a private company, SpaceX, has successfully placed a capsule in orbit and retrieved it. SpaceX becomes only the seventh organization, and the first non-governmental organization, to acomplish this feat. Said launch was a test flight of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which has an unmanned cargo version and a manned transport version.
I've talked about cost to orbit in my space colonization discussions. SpaceX's solution is not cheap, but vastly cheaper than any existing one. Nor are they alone - other companies are working on the problem. I am convinced that (relatively) low cost to orbit is coming. The question isn't "if," it's "when" and "how low?"
I've talked about cost to orbit in my space colonization discussions. SpaceX's solution is not cheap, but vastly cheaper than any existing one. Nor are they alone - other companies are working on the problem. I am convinced that (relatively) low cost to orbit is coming. The question isn't "if," it's "when" and "how low?"