In December 2015, SpaceX, a company dedicated to space exploration, recorded a huge breakthrough. They were able to launch a plane to the edge of space and bring it back, landing it upright on a floating platform in the ocean. The Falcon 9 rocket was the first of its kind to do this, and its importance is unmatched. Furthermore, she has managed to accomplish this feat six times in the last ten months, proving its validity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Another great feature of the Falcon 9 rocket is that it is extremely affordable compared to existing alternatives. The Falcon 9 project took about four hundred and forty million dollars to complete, which is about a third of what would normally be needed. The cost of a normal space launch is estimated at 1.32 billion, which makes space exploration extremely expensive and, above all, economically unsustainable. This is why NASA significantly reduced its spending in 2002 and may explain why we still know so little about our surroundings. To make matters worse, NASA's solutions for return thus far have been exclusively to have the rockets burn up in the atmosphere upon return, or to crash them into the ocean, never to be used again. However, with the new spacecraft return technology discovered by SpaceX, frequent space exploration could become a possibility in the near future. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, is not a rocket scientist at all. He is simply an educated man who continually recognizes opportunities. Always looking for unexplored markets, Musk is the founder of Pay Pal, Tesla Motors and SolarCity and with the profitability of these companies he has been able to pursue his true passion; space exploration. The next step for Musk and his team is to send passengers into space, something they have yet to do. They hope to do this at some point in 2024 and this would represent huge steps forward for the company. Musk and SpaceX have been at the forefront of space exploration for the past decade, dominating the industry. If they are able to build spaceships capable of carrying passengers, then Musk could see his dream come true. It's about sending people to Mars. The reason behind this dream is because Musk realizes the dangers that await us on Earth. He wants to send people to Mars not only for colonization purposes, but also to inspire the people of Earth. To try to show them that humans can actually become a multi-planetary species. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Over the past decade Musk has been able to accomplish so much. He has consistently delivered on his promises and goals; so there's no reason to think it will be any different this time.