SpaceX is the first privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft. On April 8, 2016, with the launch of CRS-8, SpaceX successfully vertically landed a first stage on an ocean drone platform. More details about SpaceX on wiki
Conventional wisdom – why break something that has been working for a long time? However, to make a quantum leap in improvements, there are times when you have to question the fundamental assumptions. SpaceX proved that there is a different way of making space exploration affordable by challenging every assumption ever made. Regardless of where SpaceX will be in the future, this is what they have accomplished by challenging the fundamental assumptions:
- Space programs are useless and expensive – reuseable rockets reduce the costs to launch rockets into the orbit (to almost 1/10th of the cost). SpaceX can afford multiple launches within a month at much cheaper rate and still profitable. With reduced costs, new creative uses of satellites become viable.
- Things manufactured in North America are expensive – yes but SpaceX solve some of the challenges by actually designing and manufacturing the parts within the same building. Problems are detected much earlier on. When design & manufacturing are put inside the same building, it improves not only the communication but the turn around time when issues are found. SpaceX hires people (fresh grads or otherwise) that not only have good grades but passionate about their field and enjoys dabbling/creating new ideas.
- Detecting problems during count-down mean aborting the mission – SpaceX has a team with a “Can-do” attitude and they are able to solve problems and adapt on the fly.
Elon Musk, the CEO for both SpaceX and Tesla, is a very smart and driven person who wants to make an impact to this world – he could have sit on his 100 million after selling Paypal. Instead, he risk his reputation as well as personal finances (and was on the brink of bankruptcy) to try something totally different. His successes didn’t come easy. He is different even as a young child and went through some tough teenager years. (His biography is an inspiring read. You can borrow it from the libary).
Embarking on those journeys wasn’t easy. There were lots of nay-sayers. There were also competitiors that feel threatened and tried their very best to make your life difficult. Elon Musks did not take the easy way out and managed to pull through some most difficult times.
Exercise
Ignoring past experience is not the way to success. However, simply following past foot steps can only go so far. Whether in school, work or sport, can you quote something where you (or saw someone you know) solve a problem unconventionally?