Elon Musk established SpaceX in 2002 with the intention of lowering the cost of space travel and making it possible to colonize Mars. 

Over the past four years, SpaceX has launched thirteen human spaceflight missions, safely flying 50 crewmembers to and from Earth’s orbit and creating new opportunities for humanity to live, work, and explore what is possible in space.

Elon Musk accomplished a global first when his Starship rocket was captured during its return to the launch pad. During the fifth test flight, the bottom half of the SpaceX vehicle landed back next to its launch tower, where it was captured in a massive pair of mechanical arms. It is a significant step toward SpaceX’s goal of creating a rocket that is both entirely reusable and quickly deployable.

Engineers at SpaceX proclaimed, “A day for the history books,” after the booster made a successful landing.

By successfully reusing rocket boosters, SpaceX has drastically reduced the cost of space travel, revolutionizing the aerospace sector and proving Musk’s dedication to enabling space exploration.

Musk plans on sending five starship rockets to Mars in 2026, with a crewed mission following behind two to four years after. 

Starlink is a satellite network that provides low cost internet to remote locations.  A Starlink satellite has a lifespan of approximately five years and SpaceX eventually hopes to have as many as 42,000 satellites in this so-called mega constellation

“You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars,” Musk shared.

The race to Mars is a huge step in humanity, Musk plans to be the winner of the race. Do you think he can do it?

Image courtesy of Flickr.