SpaceX

To travel through space has been a core notion in most science fiction novels and movies but will it be possible for us, humans, to do so in the near future? While there are conspiracy theories about NASA covering up news of extra-terrestrial (alien) contact and that they have already acquired means to travel past our solar system, we know that humans have landed on the moon almost 50 years ago (although that is also a subject of conspiracy theories). There have also been probes sent out as far as Neptune to study characteristics of other planetary bodies in our solar system.

However, when will it be possible to travel through space like in Star Wars or Star Trek? SpaceX is a company founded in 2002 by Entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of enabling the colonisation of Mars, and to commercialise space transportation: a step towards sci-fi space travel. It began as a concept brought up by Musk to land an experimental greenhouse and attempt to grow plants on Mars but as negotiations to purchase cheap rockets in Russia failed, he decided to start a company and produce his own rockets.

Over the past 15 years SpaceX has grown from having 160 employees in 2005 to now having almost 6000 employees in 2017, with 50 launches under contract from commercial customers in 2013. Elon Musk had stated in 2011 that he hoped to send humans to Mars' surface within 20 years and is convinced colonisation of Mars is possible. SpaceX was the first privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft, to send a spacecraft to the international space station, to name a few of its achievements - hopefully there will be more of such achievements to come.

- William