SpaceX Starship kicked off the new space race - You haven't seen anything yet!

this video is sponsored by brilliant   hey hey marcus house with you here in this  midweek episode i'm super excited to take   you on a journey into the arena of the new  commercial space race kicked off by spacex   in this one we are going to be discussing some of  the key well established companies and also some   startups whose innovative revolutionary designs  are contributing to the rekindling of new interest   once again in space exploration captivating our  imaginations in the process i'll close out this   episode with a quick review of starships so be  sure to check that out for now let's jump into it now i don't think it is any stretch of  the imagination that the establishment   of space exploration technologies incorporated  or spacex was the beginning of a paradigm shift   in the attitude towards human space flight and  the longer term vision of securing the future   of humanity survival as a species beyond this very  planet so out of a seemingly lofty aspiration to   put a greenhouse on mars a man with a singular  vision set off what would ultimately be the   catalyst for the most revolutionary private  sector commercial space program ever embarked   on that man of course was elon musk who birthed a  concept called mars oasis which would land a small   greenhouse on mars with the dual aim of reigniting  public interest in space exploration once again   and also hoping to see nasa's funding be increased  so yes that's right elon wasn't originally looking   to start a new business at that stage the idea  was to buy a cheap russian rocket and use it   to send some plants to mars he first flew over  to russia to buy a refurbished intercontinental   ballistic missile which isn't something on  most people's shopping list when they travel   but this key moment in history changed the  future direction of the mars greenhouse concept   with the moscow meeting not going so well  musk headed home seemingly empty-handed   but not dissuaded his mind abuzz with ideas  elon decided he could build the rocket himself   and it would be much cheaper with reusability  at its core spacex was founded just a few months   later in early 2002. we can then just fast forward  almost two decades and a constant design evolution   of its spacecraft and here we are with the growth  of spacex itself as an organization it is easy to   forget just how much this one company has changed  the landscape not only with respect to spacecraft   design and safety but also the cost of putting  payloads and humans into orbit all of this rapid   development has certainly created excitement for  the general public as well with the revenue stream   now in place from services such as starlink  resupply missions to the international space   station and now even crew dragon humanity now  looks set to embark on the long overdue goal of   interplanetary travel and colonisation of another  planet over the past year especially we have been   paying much closer attention to bokeh chica  and the development of the starship and the   super heavy booster prototypes we have now become  accustomed to the crazy speed of production lately   with sites such as two starships at the launch  site causing quite a thrill all the while we   continue to see falcon 9 boosters landing  successfully over and over again as the styling   constellation of internet satellites continues to  grow when asked about his motivation for entering   the space industry elon musk explained that  he felt that there was insufficient progress   and investment being made to make space travel a  reality he said that he wondered why we weren't   making progress with getting people back to the  moon and where were all the space hotels that we   were promised in 2001 a space odyssey so in those  early days it would take six years for spacex to   reach orbit an achievement that elon has said  in the past is extremely difficult to reach this   milestone spacex had to overcome many challenges  and elon knew that while speed and perfection   are often enemies giving up is not in the dna  of the company spacex failed to reach orbit with   their first three falcon launch attempts  but fortunately on september 28th in 2008   falcon 1 flight number four attained orbit for the  very first time this launch included the last of   the funding for falcon 1 development and launch  activity that just goes to show just how close   spacex were to having to close up shop as elon  said fate locked spacex that day so the fourth   launch worked if that hadn't have been the case  we wouldn't be witnessing all that we are seeing   right now the gates to the hopes and aspirations  in space were now opened for spacex the adventure   was just about to begin several more years of  development later and the company had a new and   better vehicle to show the falcon 9 first stage  reusable booster but what makes this vehicle so   special what sets falcon 9 apart from current  commercial competitors well in a nutshell it is   the ability to send a payload into orbit and then  have its massive core first stage return to earth   followed by landing either on solid ground or on  an autonomous drone ship achieving that awesome   reusability which has now become commonplace  allowed spacex to reduce the cost of getting mass   to orbit but it didn't end there along with the  falcon 9 spacex worked on the dragon capsule   to carry cargo and astronauts to the international  space station this was a feat that the entire   industry was very skeptical about i remember  the plethora of comments and videos saying   that this was all just a pipe dream a private  commercial company just can't do this in under   one year from the final falcon one flight falcon 9  successfully launched a cargo dragon capsule into   orbit in december 2010. just two years later on a  different mission the dragon capsule was launched   and it burst with the international space station  making it the first commercial spacecraft to do so   of course we know now that there are plans for  other launch providers to follow suit with the   reusability model as well the very beginnings of  spacex's history is extremely exciting to me and a   long time back we put in a load of work creating  a music video showcasing spacex's achievements   in those early days that is actually one  of my favorite pieces a link to that is in   the description and thanks to everyone for the  constant feedback that we get on that video all   of your support liking subscribing and sharing  always helps videos like this one get out there   coming up onto 300 000 subscribers there now  which just blows my mind thank you to all of you   so yes now that spacex has already been able to  demonstrate that they can fundamentally reduce   the time between missions due to their efficient  approach to reusability and booster turnaround   what about all of the other companies  that are out there that are working away   some not so much in the public eye it is not  too difficult to look around and see the growing   number of new generation launch providers entering  the private sector space industry with their   sites set on a gold mine of launch opportunities  those opportunities range from high demand small   satellite launches mega constellations much larger  payload markets such as interplanetary missions   as well as those with a view to providing an  alternative destination to the aging international   space station after all what is the point of  having a human space flight rated rocket if you   have nowhere to go right so rocket lab is the very  first one we're going to talk about these guys are   a small satellite launch provider currently  whose achievements we are very much enjoying   sharing here on the channel recently though it  was announced that they will now develop a larger   reusable rocket called neutron with a multi-role  design to cater for mega constellation launches   and also much more including cargo resupply and  interplanetary missions such as heading to venus   now this is a goal often spoken of by rocket labs  founder peter beck and this new vessel is also   capable of supporting human space flight this new  venture is a fundamental shift in their commercial   launch strategy which hilariously caused peter  to eat his hat here just recently this is what   i love about this guy despite the incredible  pressures that must come with this business   he can still convey fun and optimism to captivate  all of us with their unique journey this hectic   pace of competition entering the private space  sector market is ramping up very quickly indeed   and the neutron announcement just goes to show  how fluid the customer requirements are here   as we've seen recently as well with blue  origin now speaking of blue origin they   are a launch services startup of amazon ceo  jeff bezos with their launch vehicle new glenn   this is a reusable rocket system designed to  be a heavy lift vehicle to the usual custom   required orbital altitudes but also for missions  to the moon and beyond with its maiden flight now   targeting late 2022 which is a year later than  expected blue origin is a classic example of the   competitive nature of the private sector despite  private investment in excess of 2.5 billion   thus far jeff announced just recently that the  launch schedule was refined to match the demand   of blue origin's commercial customers blue origin  are also expected to provide be4 engines to united   launch alliance for their new vulcan rocket which  is designed to replace the delta iv and the atlas   v booster offerings new glenn is certainly sure to  impress launch enthusiasts with seven powerful be4   engines and an overall height almost on par with  that of the saturn v launch vehicle at 33 stories   tall now jeff bezos has of course stated before  that when you look at expendable rockets today   the cost of propellant is only about one percent  the cost of the entire mission the remaining huge   costs come from throwing that aerospace grade  hardware away with reusability in theory you   can see a path for lowering the cost of access  to space by a factor of 100 so yes reusability   and the launch turnaround speed with low cost  are absolutely critical to ongoing success and   viability of the industry so outside of that  though there are also less heard of companies   that are starting to make waves in the market take  firefly which is a private aerospace firm based in   austin texas with some interesting launch options  such as firefly alpha which will be aiming for   bi-monthly launches now this is a small satellite  launch vehicle with the ability to lift one metric   ton to low earth orbit or 630 kilograms to  a 500 kilometer sun synchronous orbit this   will also be capable of catering for rideshare  customers as well at the beginning of february   this year nasa announced that they had awarded  firefly around 93 million dollars to deliver a   batch of 10 science investigation and technology  demonstrations to the moon in 2023 the blue ghost   lander here will play a vital role in the artemis  program as nasa seeks out partners under the   commercial lunar payload services initiative to  conduct surface exploration activities now these   science payloads will ultimately clear the way  for a sustainable human colony on the moon this   lander is capable of landing at almost any site  on the near side of the moon including the polar   regions which are of great interest especially  where water is frozen on the surface with   solutions like these it is easy to see why nasa  chooses commercial partners to take the lead here   firefly also has a nifty ace up its sleeve with  their space utility vehicle this is essentially   a space tug that will for the very first time  transform telecommunication capability to include   coverage to the far side of the moon this is  something that no agency currently has available   to them thus limiting those mission locations  so firefly will certainly be very active in the   future lunar economy with their current selection  of launch options clearly they have a very mature   development strategy to see them enter the  commercial arena with other organizations   such as relativity space now this company are  constructing the first autonomous rocket factory   and will also be providing launch services for its  customers as well they are a young startup launch   provider with a rocket called terran one which  has a lift capacity of 1.25 metric tons relativity   space was founded at the start of 2015 by ceo tim  ellis who was a propulsion engineer at blue origin   along with co-founder and now executive advisor  jordan noon who worked at spacex on crew dragon   and the draco engines these guys are not messing  around with the core of their business based on   a 95 3d metal printed launch vehicle terran 1  will have 100 times fewer parts than a typical   rocket in the same class they aim to eventually be  able to create a launch vehicle from raw materials   and then send it to the launch pad in 60  days with an approximate cost at this time   of around 10 million dollars per launch the 3d  metal printers were essentially invented in-house   with the capability now to print a component up  to 36 feet tall this is truly a revolution in   rocket design and manufacture as another awesome  example of this the aeon 1 engine itself can be   printed in one month and it's got only three parts  now that is crazy stuff they have experimented a   lot pressing tanks to failure on many occasions  and they've had at least 13 engine versions test   fired over 300 times the ability to 3d print  these components and just as importantly prove   that these components work leaves no doubt that  this is going to change the industry dramatically   but i guess why is there so much demand coming  up for access to space in the first place in this   age of technology it's always a race for providers  to deliver satellites for a variety of reasons it   could be gps internet access climate monitoring or  overall research missions but think of even more   futuristic missions mining asteroids for precious  metals maybe how about space tourism in general   well we could introduce here axiom space they are  an infrastructure developer based in houston texas   they are entirely privately funded and have raised  130 million dollars so far since it was founded in   2016. in february this year axiom were able to  secure another 150 million dollars in a second   funding drive this clearly shows how confident  the investors are in this emerging sector of   the space industry as other companies focus on  satellite launches axiom's intent is to provide a   destination to go to axiom station will be home to  space agencies businesses and individuals as nasa   turns its focus to the moon mars and deeper space  adventures by opening the international space   station to commercial partners that allows for  an easy transition from a government-run orbital   platform to the world's first fully commercial  space station just recently nasa's director   of commercial space flight development phil  mcallister has stated that they are still in the   early stages of transitioning low earth orbit from  a government-dominated area to one in which the   private sector takes the lead the very first axia  module is potentially headed to the international   space station in late 2024 once all of the axiom  modules are in place it can eventually separate   from the international space station entirely  which would then eventually be decommissioned   so yes there are many of these other companies out  there starting to break ground but how can we even   cover this even remotely without touching  on starship which is a launch vehicle set   to tower over other competitors not just in size  but lift capacity it has been in development now   since 2018 and the prototype development and  manufacturing program has already achieved   several critical milestones starship sn4 became  the first full-scale prototype to pass a cryogenic   test and the first full starship tank to pass a  static fire sn5 which was almost identical was the   first to perform a successful 150 meter hop spacex  then did a 12.5 kilometer test flight with sn8 on   the 9th of december in 2020 demonstrating  incredible development speed right there   elon musk said on twitter that a stable  controlled descent with body flaps would be great   transferring propellant feed from main to header  tanks and relight would be a major win now with   that flight understanding exactly how the body  flaps control the pitch the yaw and the roll   during the descent was super critical then we saw  the relight the flip and almost a landing that was   an incredible achievement and really nobody knew  what to expect from that first flight i think even   elon musk was very surprised by that flight after  the many delays sn8 successfully flew to that 12.5   kilometers in altitude before the final raptor  engine was shut down to begin the pitch down   and the belly flop maneuver the prototype remained  perfectly under control during that first descent   until a loss of pressure in the fuel header  tank resulted in failure to push the vehicle   fully vertical upon relight of the raptor  engines resulting in that rough touchdown   elon said that sn8 though did great even reaching  apogee would have been great so controlling all   the way to putting a crater in the right spot  was just epic a few days after the test flight   of course sn9 was rolled down to the launch  pad where it waited for its opportunity to fly   just like sn8 the flight went perfectly and  at 10 kilometers in altitude or just over 6   miles the final raptor engine was turned off  allowing sn9 to perform that same belly flop   maneuver once again a problem though re-lighting  one of the raptor engines resulted in another   rough landing without time to lose sn10 underwent  all the regular tests and again after some delays   spacex tried another test flight the stage was set  the cameras rolling microphones on and multitudes   of people were keenly focused on the events  about to unfold at boko chica's launch site   the raptor engines thundered to life and lifted  the vehicle again to 10 kilometers where we saw   the final raptor engine shut down the descent  again went perfectly and for the first time a   starship prototype actually landed intact but a  few minutes later while captivated onlookers like   ourselves were all celebrating this incredible  milestone the prototype suddenly disassembled   itself very rapidly so many would wonder well you  know are all of these exploding starships what we   want to see are the starship prototypes perfect  well no they're far from it obviously but they are   after all just prototypes the speed of development  production and the ability to maintain this   momentum even when design changes are needed makes  spacex a pioneer in this new era of private space   exploration elon has already set the goal for  starship orbital capability this year as stated   on a joe rogan podcast elon said here that this  year he predicts that starship will reach orbit   what an incredible event that will be so yes  over the years elon musk has achieved his goal   of rocket reusability driving down the costs for  launch and will eventually be putting space travel   within close reach of the general population  so what does all of this mean anyway well it   is making many many more of us look up towards the  unknown dreaming of what is right above our heads   waiting to be discovered we are witnessing a new  chapter in space exploration everyone involved in   this is equally important and we are so very  lucky to be experiencing it all right there   with you despite all of the epic success and the  achievements of past government-led programs we do   wonder what could have been if the momentum of the  apollo era decades ago had continued uninterrupted   today we see a commercial space industry which  is rapidly morphed into the machine capable of   supporting the increasing demands of its customers  by iterative design quicker launch turnaround   cheaper launch costs and safer launch vehicles as  a result of all that we see a fresh and renewed   brighter future for humanity venturing further  into space and like you i am so thrilled to look   forwards to the possibilities unfolding before all  of us we can now thanks to the private enterprise   and less reliance on tax dollars push onward  at a faster pace not only with our permanent   residence in orbit but also to more far-reaching  destinations beyond the safety of our home so this   topic today has been sponsored by brilliant and  big thanks for their incredible help allowing us   to do what we do here on the channel we obviously  love all of this science and math related topics   here and it's not 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Channel: Marcus House

Views: 278,689

Keywords: Spacex starship, starship sn11 status, spacex boca chica, spacex live, spacex super heavy booster, soyuz launch, spacex launch, Spacex landing, Marcus house, spacex starship landing, starship sn11 launch date, Spacex super heavy, spacex starship crash, blue origin vs spacex, spacex starlink launch, spacex starship progress, spacex starship update, Elon musk starship, spacex super heavy launch, spacex starship live, spacex starlink satellite train, firefly, Blue origin

Id: tbAqm6PCgq8

Length: 22min 29sec (1349 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 30 2021