3. Private Spaceflight Takes Off … For Real This Time
The private space industry has been making noise for a while now, signing up willing customers for suborbital flights and casting reality shows to help fund a mission to Mars, but its accomplishments had been rather spotty. Until this year, that is, when SpaceX became the first company to successfully deliver cargo to the International Space Station. Of course, most of the company’s money is coming from NASA at this point, but proponents point to SpaceX’s lack of red tape, innovative technologies, and bold vision as game-changers. The company has signed contracts with private and public partners alike, forming a promising foundation for a sustainable and profitable mode of space travel and transportation. To many new graduates, SpaceX has become the “it” place to work, playing a rocket scientist’s Google to NASA’s IBM.
Image: SpaceX's Dragon Capsule approaches the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)