Launch systems that send satellites and other payloads into orbit are among the most important elements of the aerospace industry. More advanced payloads, such as military satellites, often have a high mass that requires a medium- or heavy-lift launch rocket that is powerful enough to send those payloads into orbit. However, such rockets are more expensive and require a greater deal of expertise to develop and launch. Consequently, powerful rockets have historically been developed by national space agencies and militaries, limiting the number of rockets available for commercial launches.
A private U.S. space company, SpaceX, is currently developing a heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Falcon Heavy rocket, which it hopes will challenge other rockets for commercial and government launches. Currently, Russia accounts for about 40 percent of the commercial lifts with its Proton-M and Soyuz rockets. The European Space Agency's Ariane 5 rocket is also frequently used. SpaceX is attempting to compete for many of those launches. All of SpaceX's missions thus far have been with the Falcon 9, which used weaker rocket engines than the ones currently under development. The upgraded version, the Falcon 9 v1.1, will use newly designed rocket engines that provide more thrust, allowing for the launch of larger payloads. The engines, the Merlin 1D, ran into problems during testing earlier this year that delayed the first launch of the Falcon 9 v1.1. The engines were finally tested successfully in July, and now SpaceX is set to launch the rocket for its first flight later in September.
In addition, SpaceX is designing a reusable first stage for its Falcon rockets (the first stage is the bottom part of the rocket that falls away from the rest of the rocket after liftoff). SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket is testing the concept, which the company hopes will reduce lift costs. The private U.S. space industry in this area of space flight exists primarily because NASA contracts make it economically viable, not because it is profitable on its own. Lowering costs enough to render direct NASA or U.S. government assistance unnecessary will likely require significant innovation — the type that SpaceX is striving to meet — such as reusing parts of the rocket to bring down operating costs.
