Since bursting onto the scene in 2002 promising cheap but reliable launches for satellite projects on shoestring budgets, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has yet to put a single spacecraft in orbit. But that has not stopped the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company from setting its sights on two of the hardest markets to crack: NASA human spaceflight and the launch of U.S. national security payloads. After six years of effort and three back-to-back rocket failures, SpaceX finally achieved orbit last September with a demonstration launch of its Falcon 1 rocket.
展开▼
