Space X is a leading private space transport company with its headquarters in California. It designs, manufactures and launches many space crafts and vehicles like FALCON 1 and FALCON 9. It initially transported cargo and aims to carry humans across planets.
It was given a task of being able to launch systems to resupply cargo to the International Space Station. NASA also gave SpaceX a contract to develop and demonstrate a spacecraft (named dragon) which delivers cargo to and from earth, a feat previously achieved only by the government. SpaceX is planning its first crewed Dragon/Falcon 9 flight in 2015, when it expects to have a fully certified, human-rated launch escape system incorporated into the spacecraft.
Besides NASA contracts, SpaceX has signed contracts with private sector companies, non-American government agencies and the American military for its launch services. It has already launched, for a paying customer, a low earth orbiting satellite with its Falcon 1 booster in 2009. And on 3 December 2013, the company launched its first commercial geostationary satellite from a Falcon 9.
Future products that are being developed include the HEAVY FALCON launch system, a full set technology intended for use on both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, and a liquid-methane based rocket engine. Future projects in the planning stages included a NASA robotic mission to Mars in 2018. Falcon Heavy is based on Falcon 9 technology, and if construction goes as planned, it will be the most powerful rocket in the American inventory since the Apollo-era such as Saturn V. Falcon Heavy can be used to send a crewed Dragon spacecraft on lunar orbiting missions – such as the Apollo 8 mission; or be used to send a modified unpiloted Dragon on a Mars landing mission. Elon Musk (CEO and chief designer) has stated that his intention for the company is to help in the creation of a permanent human presence on Mars.
