Will Elon Musk and SpaceX be able to keep up with a new generation of private space startups in China? Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, continuing to be a leader in the U.S. private space industry. However, while they are still perfecting their innovative aerospace designs, Chinese startups have begun popping up. And they shouldn’t be taken lightly. Funding and government collaboration could be the key to a successful private space company. And China has a pretty impressive investment portfolio at the moment.
Funding Behind Elon Musk and SpaceX
The leading private space company in the U.S., SpaceX, is fairly well funded. The company aims to colonize Mars, with their founder Elon Musk discussing the possibility of retirement on the Red Planet. The Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 are proposed launch vehicles for the Dragon spacecraft, which may be a supply ship for the International Space Station (ISS). These are all great focuses for the company, but where on earth does the funding come from? Since SpaceX began in 2002, they have had an innovative tab of more than $1 billion. Roughly $200 million has come from private equity, $100 million from various investors, $100 million from Elon Musk, and NASA carrying the bulk of the weight with around $500 million in funding. This is, by the way, is your contribution via taxes.
Space Startups of a Different Kind
While SpaceX expands and attempts to fulfill launch contracts from NASA, new Chinese space startups have been making their bones via microsatellites. The private space companies in China have remained rather small with funding pouring in from universities, hedge funds, and the National Defense Science and Industry Bureau. One such private space company is Onespace, supported by the National Defense Science and Industry Bureau since its inception in 2015. They already have a launch date of 2018 with a 59-ton launch vehicle dropping a 500 kg microsatellite into orbit. Onespace also keeps their microsatellite development costs low with a price tag of just $6,500 per pound. Why hasn’t Elon Musk and SpaceX done this? They have been around since 2002, yet a one-year-old space company in China is launching within 3 years time.
Will China Beat the US in All Aspects of Space Exploration?
Onespace is also planning a manned crew spacecraft, which may launch before SpaceX can colonize Mars. Did Elon Musk set too big of a goal, which may run out of funding before liftoff? Like all government agencies, NASA will eventually want a return on their money. It appears that China will be the supreme power in the universe if private and federal U.S. space companies can’t deliver. Will Elon Musk respond to the growing threat posed by the Chinese private space industry?
