Ever since humans conquered the Earth, they have turned to space to advance rocket technology and science and technology, but space development has been stifled by huge budgetary challenges. However, since the Obama administration, private companies have reignited space development, aiming to reduce costs through reusable rocket technology. Blue Origin and SpaceX are leading the way, with varying degrees of success and challenges. The competitiveness of these private space companies and their potential for future advancement are worth keeping an eye on.
After humans conquered the Earth, they turned their attention to space, and what our ancestors could only stare at the night sky, modern humans have access to modern science and technology based on rocket technology. Rocket technology and other space-related sciences were developed in the 20th century by Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. However, space development went into a lull after the end of the Cold War due to huge budgetary problems.
Space development requires astronomical budgets. The US budget for the Apollo program during the Cold War was $25 billion. In today’s dollars, that’s $140 billion. Current U.S. plans to send humans to Mars will cost more than $100 billion. These astronomical costs have been a burden for many countries. However, in the post-Cold War era, the Obama administration has signed legislation that favors private-sector-led space development, and it also subcontracts out cargo missions to private companies. Today, private space companies in the United States are rekindling the flame. Blue Origin and SpaceX are two of the most prominent private aerospace companies. How have their technologies evolved and how relevant are they as private companies today?
The competitive advantage that private space companies have over the U.S. government is rocket reuse. Their launch vehicles consist of a two- or three-stage multi-stage rocket and a payload or spacecraft. The first stage booster burns for a few minutes after liftoff before separating from the launch vehicle and falling back to Earth, as reducing mass is advantageous for higher speeds. Carrying some spare fuel on this falling booster and using it to power a reverse-propellant rocket to recover it at a point where it is expected to be stable is a technology that private space companies are developing and competing for. Why is recovering propellant that looks like a big empty tin can important? In the words of Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos, “Using a rocket once and then throwing it away is like flying a Boeing 747 to a foreign country and then throwing it away.” “Rocket recovery is a game-changer for the cost structure of space travel,” he said. If humans are going to explore and conquer space, they need to solve the cost problem, and reuse is the way to do it.
But there are challenges. For one thing, reusability comes at the expense of safety. Propellants that are subjected to high temperatures are more likely to fail after multiple uses. There is also a problem with recovery. The propellant usually falls into the ocean and requires a specially designed ship to retrieve it. Alternatively, they can be retrieved by helicopter, but in the meantime, seawater can erode the engines. These are some of the biggest challenges that private space companies will have to solve in the future.
Let’s take a look at the progress of two leading U.S. private space companies that are leading the way in developing rockets and reusable technologies that could change the future of space development.
Blue Origin is a private space company founded in 2000 by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with the goal of “putting millions of people in space.” They are focused on developing reusable rockets and spacecraft with the goal of developing commercial space travel. If you can make it reusable, you can drastically reduce the previously astronomical costs by a tenth. By developing and building their own rocket engines, their technology has already reached the point where they are test-launch ready, and in June 2016, Blue Origin’s reusable launch vehicle, the New Shepard, achieved a technical milestone by successfully returning home on four out of five test flights. Blue Origin is currently preparing the New Glenn, a three-stage launch vehicle that will be the largest civilian launch vehicle ever built.
SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Tesla founder Elon Musk with the ambitious goal of putting humans on Mars. They were the first private company to launch a rocket, the Falcon 1. This earned them a multi-billion dollar cargo transportation contract with NASA, which was experiencing budget problems.
SpaceX develops its own rocket engines and spacecraft, and in 2015, it successfully launched the Falcon 9 to put 11 satellites into orbit. Most recently, on June 25, 2024, SpaceX successfully launched the GOES-U satellite into geostationary orbit. This was the 10th flight of the Falcon Heavy, which successfully deployed the satellite just 4.5 hours after launch.
SpaceX is focused on developing reusable first-stage propellants. The goal is to reduce launch costs by recovering and reusing propellant that would otherwise be discarded into the ocean or outer space with each launch. Despite its recent successes, SpaceX still faces some challenges. For example, in 2016, a launch vehicle carrying a Facebook satellite exploded.
Currently, SpaceX is developing the Pelican Heavy, which has three propellants strapped to its first stage, and is scheduled to launch NASA’s Europa Clipper mission in October 2024. The company is also working on plans to move humans to Mars by 2030. These developments are positioning SpaceX to become more than just a private company, but a key player in the future of space exploration and development.
How will the market for private space companies evolve in the future? In the early days of private space development, much of the focus was on space tourism. However, I believe that human migration to other planets and into outer space will be the primary role of private space companies in the future. It costs billions and billions of dollars to send a single human into space. It cost 26 billion to send astronaut Lee So-yeon into space. This is not only because of the training costs, but also because the launch process itself is very expensive. This problem of launch costs can be solved by the large-scale production process of private space companies. It would also free up capacity in countries that can’t keep up with demand. Historically, when there is a surge in demand, the initiative has shifted from governments to private companies.
Lastly, one regrettable aspect of private space development is that there are no large private development companies in Korea yet. There are only small clubs, but I hope that in the near future, there will be a large commercial space development company like SpaceX or Blue Origin to lead the future industry. The growth of such companies will contribute greatly to the national economy and the development of science and technology. I look forward to the day when a private space development company is born in Korea and becomes competitive in the global space development market.
