I’ve been into NASA, rockets, and manned/unmanned space missions since I was a kid. I was at juuuuuuust the right age when NASA started the space shuttle program in the 80’s that it captured my imagination, curiosity, and mind. What this means is that I’ve watched the highs and lows of the US space program for 30+ years now, so I have a lot of perspective and knowledge coming into this.
The Falcon Heavy launch yesterday (February 6th also happens to be my son’s birthday) is going to be looked back upon as the day the space industry changed. It’s not because the Falcon Heavy can carry the largest payload, or that it’s the most powerful rocket in existence right now. Those things will all be exceeded at some point in the future.
Yesterday’s launch of the Falcon Heavy by Space X is so important because the future of the entire space industry has been changed forever now. Elon Musk and Space X have shown the world that space is no longer the domain of government’s. It isn’t a US/China/Russia government funded endeavor- private industry has now firmly planted its feet in low Earth orbit. Private industry has shown that innovative ideas in design are safe, functional, repeatable, and are cost effective. The Falcon Heavy is essentially a reusable rocket. The turn around time from launch to landing, to relaunching again is ridiculously short in comparison to NASA’s wildest dreams.
The Falcon Heavy means that there are options available for government and private industry that were never there before! If a telecommunications company wanted to launch a new satellite, they could go through NASA, Russia, and France. All 3 were viable options to pick from, but now with Space X, there’s a new play
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