Elon Musk, SpaceX, and
the not-so-distant future

 

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M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

¥ Hello bitches

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And more!

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C€¢ The official mission statement of
SpaceX [...] is to make the human
colonization of Mars possible.”

 

> The sky is no limit for the man who wants to walk on Mars

Greg Waldock
Staff Writer

 

por Tesla. Hyperloops. Elon Musk
is aman of many accomplishments,
but his greatest and most impressive
passion is for space. SpaceX, his private
space agency founded in 2002, was created
with the lofty goal of placing humanity
on Mars. It was once considered a distant
pipe-dream, but Musk and SpaceX have
proven themselves to be titans of business
and engineering, pushing the limits of
spaceflight technologies while generating
public enthusiasm for the “Final Frontier.”
With one look at Elon Musk’s career,
it’s easy to see why Robert Downey
Jr's portrayal of Tony Stark was partly
modelled after him. The South African-
born, Canadian-educated American
has innovated in every field he has
involved himself in. From environmental
science to internet finances, from public
transportation to astrophysics—his wide
array of technical expertise mixed with
incredible business savvy has made him
one of the most important figures in the
business world today. And now he’s got
his eyes dead set on Mars. The official
mission statement of SpaceX, and the
personal life goal for Musk himself, is
to make the human colonization of
Mars possible. This sets SpaceX apart
from other private space agencies with
its optimism and far-sightedness, a
strategy that grabs the attention of both
NASA scientists and the global public.
One of their most notable programs
has been the Grasshopper project. This
was the successful vertical landing of
rockets on barges after use, meaning
that the extremely expensive first stages
of orbital rockets now have a way to be

reused and relaunched, saving millions
of dollars and sparing the parts from
sinking into open water and becoming
a pollutant. The spectacular footage of
the first successful Grasshopper landing
on December 22, 2015, made headlines
around the world and further increased
NASA's confidence in the company. A
reusable launch vehicle, particularly after
the discontinuation of the Space Shuttle
program, has been sought after for years.
A significant aspect of SpaceX is the
focus on public interest. The company,
and Musk himself, maintains a quirky and
informal online presence, using reddit
and Twitter to communicate directly with
users. They've also gained attention with
their naming conventions; their landing
barges, Just Read the Instructions and Of
Course I Still Love You, get their unusual
names from Jain M. Banks’ The Culture
novels. Their most recently announced
launch vehicle is nicknamed the “BFR’,
and they keep it vague whether it stands
for “Big Falcon Rocket” or “Big Fucking
Rocket.” Musk’s informal attitude in
interviews, in his recent reddit AMA, and
on Twitter has also stood out in contrast
to the more controlled tones of CEOs
and leaders at other space agencies.
SpaceX is not alone in the interstellar
arena. Cooperation and competition
alike among private space companies
is encouraged by NASA, who doles out
funding and expertise to companies based
on recent successes and failures. Boeing,
Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and many
others crowd the scene with innovation,
bold engineering, and catastrophic
explosions—but despite the heavy-hitters
surrounding them, SpaceX and Elon Musk
continue to be at the forefront of the
public mind as a new space race heats up.

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Andy Plant
@andyplant1 212

Great session with @Glennyoung
_PE discussing Inquiry Based

PE and FMS #BCQDPEC
#DouglasCollege

10:29 AM: 20 Oct 17

This week’s post is by @andyplanti2i12

 

 

Photo by @elonmusk via Twitter