Russia’s got 60 years of space history. It was the Soviet space program which was responsible for putting the first human in space.
And with the Apollo program, NASA sent American astronauts to the moon. Then China became the third nation to launch a human into space. And they are quickly developing into a tough competitor and a force to be reckoned with.
Nearly thirty years ago the ESA became a commercial launch services provider. Anyone with a satellite, with the financial means, depended on Europe to fly it into space. As of today, ESA has launched about half of the active telecom satellites.
With the multinational construction of the International Space Station (ISS) the space race seemed at a standstill. The ISS is the largest structure humans ever put into orbit. And it has been continuously occupied since Nov. 2, 2000, by over 250 visitors from 18 countries.
Then a few years ago the US renewed its priorities and began to revitalize and reimagine space tech. And new-kid-on-the-block SpaceX is moving so fast it’s leaving everyone in space dust.
Elon Musk takes SpaceX into Orbit
After some trial-and-error SpaceX developed the reusable, low-cost Falcon series rocket. And they have been a dominant player ever since. And now it looks like the Starship SN10 is getting close to success.
