Elon Musk Says His Reusable Rockets Will Make Space Access 100-Times Cheaper – Futurism

In Brief Following last month's successful reuse of a Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated he is confident that his company can cut the cost of space access by a hundred-fold. Reusable rockets are, indeed, far more cost-effective than the "disposable rockets" previously used, so cheaper space exploration is likely on the way. A Cheaper Space

On March 30, SpaceXmanaged to launch and land a previously used Falcon 9 rocket for the first time. The company has long claimedthat itsFalcon 9 would prove to be the worlds first fully reusable orbital rocketand that such rockets would be a game-changer in space exploration. After last weeks success, those predictions are starting to come true.

Prior to reusable rockets, space flight missions relied on rockets built for single use. These disposable rockets, so to speak, were used in NASAs space shuttle missions, but they were costly for every mission, a new rocket had to be made.

Now, SpaceXs cost-saving rockets are poised to usher in a new, cheaper era of space exploration. At this point, Im highly confident that its possible to achieve at least 100-fold reduction in the cost of space access, SpaceXs founder and CEO Elon Musk said after the historic SES-10 mission last week.

SpaceX has proven its mettle when it comes to space missions. On its website, the private space company has logged more than 70 flights in its manifest. These include numerousmissions funded by NASA, such as SpaceXs 10 resupply runs to the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceXs 2012 mission to the ISS marked the first time a private spacecraft docked on the space station, andthe latest of its supply missions just took place on February 19. SpaceX has also completed a number of landing tests using its Falcon 9 rockets, as well as missions that launched private satellites into orbit.

Now, with the Falcon 9s reusability confirmed, things are moving forward for SpaceX. The next step is successfully reusing a Falcon 9, after an inspection and a re-fuel, within 24 hours after landing. According to Musk, Rapid and complete reusability of rockets is really the key to opening up space and becoming a space-faring civilization.

The Falcon 9 is powerful and massive enough to reach orbital speeds, and its tough enough to survive re-entry. Its also currently the only truly reusable orbital rocket available. However, it likely wont be the only one for long as Jeff Bezos Blue Origin is well on its way to developing its own reusable rocket. The more of these game-changing rockets we have available, the better the future looks for humanitys exploration of Mars and other off-world wonders.

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Elon Musk Says His Reusable Rockets Will Make Space Access 100-Times Cheaper - Futurism