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The new space race: how billionaires launched the next era of exploration
“He’s being Elon again. I’d call it competition, and competition is the American way of life,” said John Logsdon, professor emeritus at George Washington University and founder of the Space Policy Institute. “SpaceX has challenged the traditional launch industry in the United States and in Europe and in China and in Russia.”
In just over 15 years, SpaceX has muscled its way into spaceflight, a realm long dominated by space agencies like Nasa and their main contractors, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Nor was Musk alone: Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos beat him to landing a reusable rocket through his own company, Blue Origin, and Richard Branson and a slew of other entrepreneurs have followed with lighter-lift rockets.
“He’s being Elon again. I’d call it competition, and competition is the American way of life,” said John Logsdon, professor emeritus at George Washington University and founder of the Space Policy Institute. “SpaceX has challenged the traditional launch industry in the United States and in Europe and in China and in Russia.”
In just over 15 years, SpaceX has muscled its way into spaceflight, a realm long dominated by space agencies like Nasa and their main contractors, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Nor was Musk alone: Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos beat him to landing a reusable rocket through his own company, Blue Origin, and Richard Branson and a slew of other entrepreneurs have followed with lighter-lift rockets.