Children and adults alike often have a sort of fascination with space. Children look up to astronauts in the same way that they admire superheroes, but unfortunately, the general population’s interest in space has been less passionate lately.

According to the Center for Lunar Science and Exploration, NASA’s budget was greater than four percent of the federal budget in 1967, while NASA is now funded less than one percent of the federal budget. People used to follow NASA with excitement, but with a decline in funding the organization has left the national spotlight. The general interest in space was fairly insignificant for quite a while, but in recent years a new organization has emerged, bringing back the excitement for humanity’s future in space. SpaceX, a company founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been revolutionizing the idea of space travel in the modern world.

On February 6, 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy, a super-heavy-lift rocket with reusable parts. While this may not sound very significant on surface level, the Falcon Heavy launch is very important for modern space travel. Launching rockets into space is an extremely expensive process, but the Falcon Heavy uses reusable booster rockets that land upright after the launch where they would typically be disposed of in the ocean after one use. The Falcon Heavy can also carry a heavier cargo load than any other rocket in history aside from Saturn V. This opens up new opportunities for carrying equipment into space, such as shuttles, satellites, and more.

The Falcon Heavy has not been the only notable result of the hard workers at SpaceX. According to SpaceX’s website, the company is working on another rocket named Big Falcon Rocket which is planned to bring the first humans to Mars in 2024. Employees at SpaceX are notorious for working extremely long hours, and this effort shows immensely in the work that the company accomplishes. SpaceX pushes the limits on what is thought to be possible, and then whenever the public begins to digest the incredible progress being made, the company pushes the boundaries again.

The accomplishments achieved by SpaceX are history in the making, but the company’s founder, Elon Musk, is not stopping there. Musk is the driving force behind SpaceX, motivating his employees to push themselves to change the world, and this applies to Musk’s attitude towards his other endeavors as well. Tesla, a fully electric car company created by Elon Musk is making the idea of electric cars dominating the roads an approaching reality. Tesla also produces roof tiles that act as solar panels, making it easier and more visually pleasing for homeowners to utilize solar power. Very recently, Musk has been drawing attention to another company of his, The Boring Company, which is developing an underground tunnel system in California which will host low-cost public transportation trains capable of reaching 150 mph, as well as providing tunnels for people to drive their own cars, helping reduce traffic on roads. Very few entrepreneurs could be considered comparable to Musk due to the degree that he has advanced the world already.

Based on the way that SpaceX has revolutionized space travel so far, it’s evident that the company, as well as Musk’s other unprecedented projects, has a very bright future ahead. It’s no longer NASA that is pushing the limits of what most people believe possible. SpaceX has taken over that role and I am confident that in the years to come, children will be glued to their screens in excitement and awe to watch as SpaceX innovates space travel time and time again. Children have looked up to figures like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and other astronauts with NASA, but it is undeniable that the children of the near future will look up to Elon Musk and the engineers at SpaceX in the same way.

Your turn:

• How do you feel about SpaceX? Do you think the company is going to continue doing new things?
• Based on the SpaceX plans, what do you think about the colonization of Mars?