
If you can't afford the Titan missile, you can use the booster technology to get the lift ability with the Atlas rocket for Earth orbital missions, and while flying those research the Titan. If you have planned to begin flights with Gemeni by 1963, and you're having problems with Mercury, abandon Mercury in favor of Gemeni. Figure 3 turns before any capsule is ready to fly.Īlso, strive to stay on schedule. Don't jump into the Tital rockets right away, unless you have the money. So start researching Gemeni while finishing your Mercury flights. The best position to be in is to have your next generation capsule being researched while still flying the old. The bigger risks that you take, the more they could hurt you. However, the computer player will always give you a run for your money. Even as early as 1967 (Gemini with booster and Cricket lander). There is strong investor demand in both the private and public markets to fund these ventures, and the technologies being pioneered have promising applications with the potential of translating into big business.Yes it is, and I consistently do it. One thing that is clear from studying the current crop of leading space companies is that the industry has a bright future.

The company has stable financing from Bezos and is far along in accomplishing its goals - it's just not the market leader in any particular aspect. However, Blue Origin isn't struggling by any means. The company is simultaneously tackling the human transport and commercial payload markets, but it is still developing and testing its offerings. If there is a laggard, it is probably Blue Origin. The company has already successfully tested its reusable rocket technology, and it has started making commercial deliveries of space payloads such as satellites and scientific instruments for the government. SpaceX has the largest valuation of the three companies and hasn't had any issue raising more capital in the private markets. Perhaps these two firsts are "races" the company can claim victory in. The company is also expected to be the first to commercialize human space transport with space tours beginning in 2020. Virgin Galactic will be the first of the three to hit the public markets in a listing expected by the end of 2019. The three leading commercial space companies are all aiming for slightly different goals, so there is no clear overall winner in the space race so far. Although the company has traction in the markets for both space tourism and satellite launches, it is a few steps behind its rivals. government and satellite companies, including Telesat (owned by Loral Space & Communications), beginning in 2021.īlue Origin is certainly a serious contender in the commercial space race, but it lacks the focus of Virgin Galactic and SpaceX. Blue Origin has signed several deals to launch future payloads for the U.S. The New Glenn is still in development but will be a reusable heavy-lift rocket.

Virgin Galactic has been very public about its goal of becoming a space tourism business, but it also believes it can disrupt long-haul travel if it can get the cost of space travel down enough.īlue Origin also has ambitions to compete with SpaceX on launching satellites into space with its New Glenn rocket, named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth. Starting with Virgin Galactic - the company was founded in 2004 and has spent the last 15 years developing rocket technology and assembling vehicles capable of transporting humans into space.

With the upcoming IPO of Virgin Galactic via a reverse merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings ( IPOA), it's as good a time as any to learn about the leaders in the commercial space sector. The three companies that get the most attention are SpaceX (backed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk), Blue Origin (backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos), and Virgin Galactic (backed by entrepreneur Richard Branson). This is partly due to waning interest from governments in space missions, but it is also due to potential commercial opportunities to launch satellites and create new modes of human transportation. In stark contrast to the space race of the 20th century, which saw governments compete with each other, the modern space race is primarily taking place in the private sector.
