How SpaceX Have Innovated So Quickly
Whether you are looking at the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, or especially Starship, you might wonder how SpaceX has developed and innovated these rockets so fast. With the Falcon 9 having over 100 successful launches and Starship about to attempt an orbital test flight, it’s clear SpaceX is one of the most efficient private space companies out there.
SpaceX has innovated so quickly thanks to constant work, commercial contracts, and not being afraid of failure. Each part has played a key role in SpaceX’s consistent fast progress through all their different projects. These will likely also be the reasons for SpaceX’s future success and endeavors.
When looking at projects such as Starship the speed SpaceX has innovated is clear to see. Especially when you compare what SpaceX has accomplished and what similar or even bigger companies have tried. As time goes on SpaceX manages to get faster and more ambitious which is needed if they want to put humans on Mars anytime soon.
Some Of SpaceX’s Big Projects
Taking a look at SpaceX’s history and projects they have managed to have great success in a short period of time. One of the first big projects SpaceX started working on that they actively use today is the Falcon 9. The Falcon 9 is a partially reusable rocket that has been SpaceX’s main launch vehicle. The Falcon 9 has been responsible for some amazing things including landing many boosters on drone ships, reusing the same booster many times, putting NASA astronauts on the International Space Station, and more. The Falcon 9 was one of SpaceX’s first rockets but they managed to innovate and create it quite quickly.
SpaceX then started working on its Falcon Heavy. Currently the world’s most powerful operational rocket, the Falcon Heavy is very impressive. Not only that but just like the Falcon 9 the Falcon heavy is partially reusable. While the Falcon Heavy has not had a lot of launches it still is a very impressive and innovative design from SpaceX.
Finally, there is Starship. Starship is SpaceX’s current rocket in development. Starship is by far the fastest and most unique project SpaceX has worked on. With Starship development only starting a few years ago, the speed is hard to keep up with. SpaceX starting testing prototypes such as Starhopper in late 2019. Now only about two years later SpaceX is about to have their first orbital test flight. SpaceX has managed to think outside the box and innovate at speeds that are hard to keep up with.
How SpaceX Innovate So Fast
Constant Work – While it sounds simple, SpaceX’s constant work on projects such as Starship is a big reason why they have made so much progress. Since almost the beginning of Starship and Starbase development, SpaceX and its employees have been working 24/7 on the site. This work through day and night has helped them construct and test new Starship prototypes much faster. Specifically, Elon Musk and his hasty goal of Mars in the next few years have helped push the company for what’s possible when developing a rocket.
There is never a moment at Starbase where nothing is happening. SpaceX will often do tests such as cryo tests late in the night. A large area needs to be cleared while doing these tests which can slow down progress. When SpaceX does them in the night they ensure crews and deliveries will be continuing at full speed during the day. Along with other constant work on different parts of Starship and Starbase, the progress never stops.
Commercial Contracts – Another important aspect of SpaceX’s continued fast innovation is thanks to different contracts from companies and agencies such as NASA. Developing and innovating a new rocket is not only hard but extremely expensive. A large majority of your test vehicles along with finished products are likely to blow up in the process. This along with a list of other things that cost a lot of money. One way SpaceX has been able to keep working and have the necessary funds is by different commercial deals and contracts.
In this process, SpaceX provides either a private company or a big agency like NASA a product or a launch vehicle, and SpaceX gets paid. An example of this could be the most recent big contract won by SpaceX for the Moon lunar lander. This contract gave SpaceX around $2.9 billion to develop a Starship lunar lander for future missions to the Moon. This money goes directly to Starship development and helps keep the expensive needs of Starship under control. SpaceX can continue to rigorously test and create new Starship prototypes thanks to funding.
Not Afraid of Failure – Arguably one of the most important reasons why SpaceX has innovated so quickly is its mindset. Elon Musk and SpaceX are not only not afraid of failure but accept it. When I mention this I am mainly referring to the testing process for SpaceX rockets. The perfect example of this could be Starship. While SpaceX has only been testing the rocket for about two years, they have already blown up many prototypes. SN8, SN9, SN10, SN11 all ended up blowing up either in the air, on landing, or after landing. Each test SpaceX would gather information on the rocket, make some changes, and test again. This mindset and constant testing have allowed them to get a large amount of accurate flight data and use that for the next prototype.
Another example could be the Falcon 9 booster. When SpaceX was testing its Falcon 9 booster they had a lot of failed landings. SpaceX went on to make a youtube compilation of all the Falcon 9 crashes. One of the best ways to improve a rocket is to test it. By SpaceX accepting failure and going headfirst into different flight tests, they have been able to quickly innovate and update their rockets.
SpaceX Compared To Other Companies
The extent of SpaceX’s speed can be a lot easier to see when compared to other companies. So far Starship has been in development for right around 5 years. In this time they have managed to have many successful tests and are about to try the first Starship orbital test flight. Rockets such as NASA’s Space Launch System or ULA’s Vulcan Centaur have both been in development for around 7 years yet the progress is not quite there. It’s also important to point out that SLS and the Vulcan Centaur are not meant to be reusable at all. Both these rockets are expendable and using a lot of technology/practices used before. This can help show how fast SpaceX has been even working on completely unique and innovative rockets like Starship.
Conclusion
Since being founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, SpaceX has continued to innovate extremely quickly on all of its projects. When looking at Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, or Starship, you can see fast innovation that continues to improve over time. SpaceX has been able to innovate so fast thanks to constant work, commercial contracts, and not being afraid of failure. Each reason is exactly why SpaceX has been so successful with its speed. Starship’s first orbital test flight being very soon is the perfect example of this. With the goal of putting humans on Mars within the next decade, SpaceX will need to continue its fast pace if not speed up even more.