Updated August 4th, 2021 at 23:06 IST
What is SpaceX's official name? Elon Musk just revealed space company's real name & goal
Space X CEO, Elon Musk just revealed the space company's real name & goal. Read to find out.
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Every wondered why SpaceX is called so? It literally does not have a meaning. Here is Elon Musk, the CEO of the commercial spaceflight organisation, to clear the cloud surrounding its name. Read to find out.
SpaceX is actually called Space Exploration Technologies Corporation. Yes, heard it right! SpaceX is the acronym for its broader full name. Elon Musk took to the microblogging site, Twitter to share this information about SpaceX official name. He informed that SpaceX is the abbreviation of the "official name" Space Exploration Technologies Corporation.
That is the goal. Our official name is actually Space Exploration Technologies. SpaceX is short form.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 4, 2021
SpaceX and its goal
According to Britannica, SpaceX is an American commercial aerospace company founded in 2020. It maneuvres space aerospace transportation services and communications. The company has its headquarters in Hawthorne, California. The goal of SpaceX, as stated by Musk is "reducing space transportation cost to enable the colonisation of Mars."
Evolution of SpaceX
The company entered the spacecraft-making business with Falcon 1 rocket, a two-stage-fuelled craft designed to send small satellites into orbit. As per reports, the Falcon Rocket was much cheaper to build and operate in comparison to its competitors. The company also developed the Merlin engine, a compact, energy-efficient system that enabled an inexpensive budget for the spacecraft. In the coming times, the company also looks forward to making reusable space launch vehicles for more sustainable space travel.
From Falcon 1 to Dragon capsule
In a milestone, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight in a Dragon Capsule on May 30, 2020. Astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken were the first humans to travel to space in commercial spaceflight.
The company began with Flacon 1, which made its first attempt to space in March 2006. However, it failed due to a fuel leak. Subsequently, it made two more attempts in vain, in March 2007 and August 2008. Nevertheless, in September 2008, it made its first successful attempt to send a liquid-fuelled rocket to orbit. Following this, the commercial spaceflight company bagged a $1.5 billion contract from the National Aeronautics and Space and Space Administration (NASA).
The journey from Falcon 1 to Falcon 9 was a milestone for SpaceX. In December 2010, the company became the first commercial spaceflight company to launch the Dragon capsule into orbit successfully and return it to Earth. Interestingly, Falcon 9 was designed so that it could be reused. When the first rocket stage returned to Earth, it was reused during a re-launch in 2017. Meanwhile, the company developed a Falcon Heavy Rocket, which took its first test flight to space in 2018. It placed into orbit around the Sun a Tesla Roadster with a mannequin in a spacesuit. The company now aims to shoot settlers to Mars by 2023.
(With inputs from spacex.com and Twitter)
(Image input: AP (representative))
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Published August 4th, 2021 at 23:06 IST
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