Icecream in Space… Privatization of the Space Industry
SpaceX has now become America’s supplier for the International Space Station, a role which many other companies wish they could have. Ever since NASA shut down the space shuttle program companies have been jumping on opportunities to launch themselves into the space market, this is an exciting leap forward for the privatization of an emerging market. The selling of contracts for supply missions and such worried many about whether the job would be done right; these concerns are fading, as these private companies are also improving on what other governments have been doing. Not only is SpaceX supplying the ISS, but they are also returning with blood and urine samples from the astronauts- something none of the other countries are able to do. It is an exciting time, as innovations will most likely keep arising and humanity’s exploration of the final frontier will begin to take place in ernest.
October 10th, 2012 at 9:34 PM
With NASA out of the picture, does SpaceX face any other competitors?
October 10th, 2012 at 9:57 PM
Yes Melissa, they do with respect to the space industry as a whole. Their most notable competition is Virgin Galatic, who is focusing on space tourism; however, they are the only private company supplying the ISS at the moment.