Fun Facts about Space X
Space X is an incredible spacecraft engineering company
created and also ran by Elon Musk. The idea of having a private spacecraft
focused company was very innovative and Space X continues to stand out as an
incredible business within this space. There are many things that people don’t
know about Space X however, and here are some fun facts to check out!
Space X is not the real name of the company
The actual name of Space X is Space Exploration Technologies
Corporation. However, one might assume that they are using Space X because it’s
the shorter version of that, and it’s easier to bring in a conversation when
compared to the full name.
The first private space company that docked within the ISS
Yes, Space X is the first private space company that was
allowed to dock within the International Space Station. This happened back in
2012, and Space X continued to perform such missions since then.
Flying and landing a reusable rocket
One of the problems with rockets until 2017 is that they
were one-time-use. However, on March 30th 2017 Space X was able to
launch and also fly as well as land a Rocket. That made it much easier to lower
rocket costs, while also bringing in new ways to reuse rockets.
Space X works on specialized spacesuits
While most people know Space X because it builds and
launches rockets, the company also works on other projects. They are working
closely with NASA in order to create very specialized, durable and high quality
spacesuits.
The Falcon Heavy rocket created by Space X can carry 119000 pounds
Space X’s rocket is able to carry a massive amount of weight
to space. In fact, Space X itself describes this rocket as the mass equivalent
of a 737-jetliner filled with fuel, luggage, crew and passengers. But instead
of going from point a to point b on Earth, it just goes out into space.
Elon Musk owns around 44% of Space X
According to online data, Elon Musk owns around 44% of Space
X, which is valued to be $100 billion in the private market. Musk is known to
buy and sell shares from time to time, so the value fluctuates, but it goes to
show that he still has major ownership in the company.
The Dragon spacecraft has a very interesting source for its name
Elon Musk is known for adding in a lot of pop culture
references to Space X projects. In fact, the Dragon spacecraft itself is named
after “Puff the Magic Dragon”, which is a very popular song. Not only that, but
the Falcon rockets were named after, you guessed it, the Millennium Falcon from
Star Wars.
Space X plans to deploy upwards of 12000 satellites in orbit as a part of
Starlink
Starlink is a program created by Space X with the idea of
delivering stable internet connections through satellites anywhere in the
world. While the company already launched 3000+ satellites until the end of
2022, the plan is to deliver upwards of 12000 satellites to create a very
powerful network. There might even be an extension to have 42000 satellites.
Space X is an incredible company that was able to really
stand out in an industry that wasn’t very well forged around its inception.
Nowadays, Space X stands tall as one of the most creative and innovative space
engineering companies, and it’s all thanks to the forward-thinking and
innovations brought by Elon Musk.