Marcelo bellucci
02/28/2021 9:01 AM
Clarín.com
Technology
Updated 02/28/2021 9:01 AM
The two richest men on the planet have several shared interests.
One of the points that unites Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk is their technological fascination.
This leads them to develop
increasingly powerful spacecraft
, with a greater load capacity and the possibility of reusing the same rockets on new trips.
Since the private space industry replaced state agencies, a phenomenon that originated in the United States but is replicated almost all over the world,
the chance to colonize new planets has
once again been the dream that rolls in a machine designed to fly. .
"It should be noted that private industry was present from the beginning of the US space program. The Mercury and Gemini capsules
They were manufactured by McDonnell, the Apollo by North American Aviation, various rocket engines by Rocketdyne, the space shuttle by Rockwell, the Atlas rockets by Convair, the Titan rockets and shuttle boosters by Morton Thiokol, the lunar module by Grumman and some stages of the Saturn rockets for Chrysler ", says Andrés Rodríguez, professor in the ITBA electronic engineering department.
As Musk's SpaceX and Bezos's Blue Origin begin pulling
increasingly innovative projects
out of their hangars
, the potential for your investment to become a profitable business multiplies.
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Whether it is for tourism,
carrying astronauts, exploration or satellite positioning
, the options that open up are almost endless.
Especially if the cost of travel is reduced.
This private race was a consequence of the excessive increase that Soyuz rockets began to apply to move astronauts.
Thus, it went from $ 20 million in 2010 to $ 80 million in 2018. While
SpaceX's Dragon Crew dropped the budget to about $ 55 million
.
SpaceX's Dragon Crew once again brought astronauts to the International Space Station.
Photo: AP
"Demand for satellite orbiting services appears to be growing, and in fact SpaceX is launching several Falcon 9 rockets per month for this purpose. A typical launch is estimated to be priced at around
$ 70 million
, with logical variations depending on the characteristics of the mission and the possibility of reusing items recovered from previous missions ", warns Rodríguez.
The key to the business is the reuse of launch systems
, since the more times they can be used, the lower the cost of each trip.
This is why both SpaceX and Blue Origin are looking to build increasingly sophisticated ships.
And while SpaceX appears to have a slight advantage over its immediate rival, as
the Falcon 9, its partially reusable
two-stage
launch vehicle
, made hundreds of trips.
This is only appearance.
Space bezos
Weeks ago, Jeff Bezos announced that at the end of this year he will leave the position of CEO of Amazon
to dedicate himself full time to promoting his company Blue Origin,
which he founded in early 2000.
"Blue Origin is also committed to the reusability of its vehicles, but it does not have the degree of advancement and experience of SpaceX. In addition to the New Shepard rocket that is advanced in its test flights, it hopes to develop the New Glenn and New Armstrong", indicates Rodríguez.
Since then, he has treasured some important achievements.
With
his New Shepard he achieved the first successful vertical landing
of a rocket that had gone into space and reused the booster four more times.
The New Shepard was developed with the goal of sending people safely and affordably into space on suborbital missions, where they could spend a
few minutes in microgravity and enjoy the view of the planet
from above.
In its current version, these missions should be able to carry six passengers.
New Glenn, a true 98-meter space tower, barely lower than the historic Saturn V.
But its best-valued piece is the New Glenn rocket,
a true 98-meter space tower - barely lower than the historic Saturn V -
with a reusable first-stage thruster, designed to send satellites into orbit.
The inaugural launch will be this year.
New Glenn's fully reusable first stage, named after pioneering astronaut John Glenn,
is designed for a minimum of 25 flights
, making it competitive for a variety of launch markets.
Unlike its competitor, the New Glenn
has twice the payload volume of
any launch vehicle, which means more space for satellites and the freedom to build more capacity.
Additionally, it can take off and land in 95% of weather conditions, making it a reliable option for payload customers.
Musk's tests
Elon Musk celebrates the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon manned spacecraft.
Photo: AFP
SpaceX is developing a spacecraft to carry people and payloads to the Moon, Mars and other distant destinations.
The transport system consists of two reusable pieces:
a 50-meter-tall spaceship called the Starship and a huge rocket known as the Super Heavy
.
Both will be powered by the new generation Raptor engine.
"SpaceX can recover the early stages of the Falcon 9 rockets and the fairing that covers the payload. Among other innovations, it is proposing to launch from platforms similar to offshore oil platforms, which could be located at the equator to obtain the maximum benefit from the rotational speed of the earth, "says Rodríguez.
Once the prototype phase is complete, the launch system will
replace the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy
.
Its intention is to compete with the Space Launch System (SLS) to get NASA to the Moon and beyond.
In his optimism, Musk set an ambitious timetable for the Starship, declaring that the system should start
leading colonists to Mars by 2026
and could even do so in 2024 "if we're lucky."
SpaceX starships SN9 and SN10 await their moment of liftoff.
Photo: Reuters
Regardless of whether it is fulfilled in 2024 or two years later, the trip to the Red neighbor will not be economical, although Musk himself indicated a year ago that the cost would be
below $ 500,000
.
The Starship's first test flight took place on December 9.
The Starship Serial Number 8 (SN8) successfully took off from the platform, performed the descent maneuvers using control surfaces,
although it exploded when trying to land six and a half minutes later
.
In early February,
the Starship SN9
prototype
suffered a fate almost identical to that of its predecessor
, surviving a pitch, climb and descent of nearly six and a half minutes before losing thrust, hitting the ground too hard and exploding in the last second.
On the moon
Jeff Bezos showed his Blue Moon.
Photo: Reuters
NASA's ultimate goal is to return to the Moon.
After the cancellation of the Apollo program, humans have never stepped on it again.
Thus,
the Artemis project proposes that in 2024
it returns to the satellite.
This would explain why Blue Origin is advancing its plans.
In January this year, the US space agency awarded a launch services contract for Blue Origin and its New Glenn rocket.
One of the most important projects of the company is Blue Moon,
the lunar lander that should carry cargo and people
.
In collaborating with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper on a broader concept they believe NASA could use to get astronauts to the lunar surface safely under its Artemis program.
Some parts of the system would be reusable and should integrate well in lunar orbit with NASA's Gateway space station.
There are other aeronautical companies that have obtained contracts from NASA to develop vehicles that can be used in future missions to the Moon.
"Northrop Grumman, a successor to Orbital Sciences Corp., also has the ability to place payloads in orbit and to resupply the ISS. Boeing is developing a manned capsule called Starliner. And ULA (United Launch Alliance, a Lockheed Martin venture and Boeing) also has the capacity to place large payloads in orbit using its Atlas V rockets, "says Rodríguez.
SL
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