How SpaceX takes off with Falcon Heavy and more
SpaceX has launched a Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful rocket currently operated by the company, for the US Space Force. According to Quartz, Musk's rockets are the only option for many customers, at least for now. The company recently raised $750 million in new financing at a $137 billion valuation
SpaceX has launched its first mission of 2023 for the US Space Force.
On Sunday, Elon Musk's aerospace company launched its Falcon Heavy rocket for the fifth time. The rocket, which boasts three reusable boosters, "is the second most powerful operational launch vehicle in the world after the debut of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) last year, but costs about ten times less," Quartz points out.
If the Heavy is the most powerful operational rocket in SpaceX's inventory, it will be dwarfed by the company's fully reusable Super Heavy/Starship, expected for an initial test flight in the coming months from Boca Chica, Texas.
Thus, SpaceX may soon wrest the title from NASA for the largest rocket stage ever built.
In addition, the most important satellites used by the US military to coordinate their forces around the world live in high orbits about 27,000 miles above the Earth. It's hard to get there, highlights Quartz . And right now, only SpaceX's Falcon Heavy can carry those big satellites into geostationary orbit. SLS is too expensive, Boeing has retired the Delta IV rocket that did that job, and the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket has yet to fly, though it should do so later this year.
For the foreseeable future, therefore, the US military depends on SpaceX for heavy transport. And Musk's aerospace company is making itself more and more indispensable.
Russia decided last week to send an unmanned replacement Soyuz shuttle to bring the crew back to Earth from the International Space Station after the loss on Soyuz MS-22. But in case of need, NASA counts on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft as a backup to the Soyuz mission: the only company that can currently carry astronauts into space from American soil.
All the details.
THE LAUNCH OF THE FALCON HEAVY FOR THE US SPACE FORCE
On January 15, SpaceX carried out the second launch of a Falcon Heavy carrier rocket in two months, after an interruption that lasted about three years. The Falcon Heavy successfully delivered two satellites into a geostationary orbit. Approximately eight minutes after launch, the Falcon's two side rockets returned to the launch site. Sunday's is a semi-classified mission carried out on behalf of the United States Space Force, as well as the first space launch for US national security since early 2023.
It was only the fifth flight of a Falcon Heavy, which debuted in 2018 by launching a Tesla roadster into space with a mannequin in a pressure suit at the wheel.
THE EVALUATION OF SPACEX
Meanwhile, the market value of Elon Musk's aerospace company is growing.
Earlier this month, SpaceX raised $750 million in new capital at a reported valuation of $137 billion. This comes after the company took in $250 million from investors in 2022 and $1.5 billion in 2021, Quartz always remembers.
THE COMMENT OF THE ANALYST COLLECTED BY QUARTZ
“SpaceX is almost like a sovereign entity in its ability to infinitely raise capital,” space industry analyst Chris Quilty tells Quartz .
According to the American newspaper SpaceX dominates most of the sectors in which it plays, but in some – human spaceflight and the launch of large satellites – it is the only player in the market.
Investors are handing Musk their money to fund ambitious projects like Starlink, the company's satellite network, and Starship, its next rocket. But one reason they can feel safe betting on those frontier technologies is the US government's reliance on SpaceX.
Per Quartz , “SpaceX's market position is similar to [Elon Musk's electric carmaker] Tesla a few years ago. The only large-scale electric car supplier, it has been able to dominate its industry. In many ways, it still does. But other automakers are starting to catch up with their own EVs."
BUT WATCH OUT FOR THE COMPETITION
And just like for Tesla, the satellite launch market is also crowded with new players for SpaceX. United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, plans to launch the Vulcan rocket for the first time later this year. Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space company, has similar plans to debut its New Glenn vehicle in 2023. Those two rockets could offer stiff competition for the Falcon Heavy if they live up to their billing. Additionally, companies like Rocket Lab and Relativity Space are developing new rockets that could compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, Quartz recalls.
MUSK BETS ON STARSHIP
Last year, SpaceX achieved several new milestones but faced delays in its Starship program, which is part of NASA's effort to return astronauts to the Moon and later Mars.
The spacecraft would be even bigger and more powerful than the Falcon Heavy or the SLS, and because it's built to be completely reusable, it would be one of the most efficient rockets ever made. However, rocket development is slow and many variables could lead to delays. Musk said last week that he expects Starship's first test flight in early March. An unreasonable assumption, according to Quartz .
Finally, for the American newspaper, "if and when the real competitors reach SpaceX for the launch vehicles, Musk could be inspired by Tesla: today, the automaker declared that it is cutting prices by up to 20% on its entire line of vehicles. It won't be good for the company's profitability, but analysts think it could help protect the company's market share. Given that SpaceX's prices have risen steadily in recent years, it's easy to imagine Musk turning up the heat on rocket rivals with a Falcon fire sale."
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/come-decolla-spacex-con-falcon-heavy-e-non-solo/ on Tue, 17 Jan 2023 06:17:17 +0000.