Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been at the forefront of revolutionizing space transportation, communications, and services in recent years. The more its ambitions grow, the more competitors the company has to fend off. In fact, it’s hard to find a company in the space industry that doesn’t consider itself a competitor to SpaceX. It seems like the whole world is eager to take on this burgeoning company.
However, only a few companies have managed to go head to head with SpaceX in certain areas of space technologies. So let’s explore the main competitors of Elon Musk and how they measure up to SpaceX.
Boeing
Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and the leading producer of military aircraft, space vehicles, and missiles. With extensive experience supporting almost every major U.S. space endeavor, this aerospace behemoth is arguably SpaceX’s key rival.
The company takes a level-headed approach to building a future of safe space exploration, commercial use of space, and digital transformation of the satellite industry.
The most significant Boeing achievements in the space industry include:
- Building a CST-100 Starliner commercial spacecraft for flying crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS)
- Constructing the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the most powerful rocket ever built, for launching astronauts into deep space, Mars, and the Moon’s surface
- Building Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) for providing high-bandwidth communication between the ground and the orbiting spacecraft
Boeing vs. SpaceX
Historically, Boeing has had a long-standing and close relationship with NASA. For a while, no space probe could go without this aerospace titan.
However, SpaceX, a privately owned company, has come out swinging in the last couple of years, seemingly outpacing its government-backed rival. So before reaching the crucial moment when SpaceX emerged triumphant, let’s go back to the beginning.
After several successful cargo transportation missions, the Obama administration ordered a Human Spaceflight Plans Committee. In 2009, the committee concluded that crewed flights to low-Earth orbit were within reach.
Consequently, NASA launched the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) in 2011 to develop ISS crew transport vehicles. There was a series of successful bids from various aerospace companies.
NASA has consciously tried to foster this open-competition approach to avoid relying on a single company, thus making space exploration more cost-effective.
Ultimately, NASA awarded separate contracts to SpaceX and Boeing in the following amounts:
- $2.6 billion to SpaceX for developing the Crew Dragon spacecraft
- $4.2 billion to Boeing for developing their CST-100 Starliner spacecraft
In 2020, SpaceX beat Boeing in the race and became the first private company to launch humans into orbit. In addition, Elon Musk’s company reduced the cost by approximately 95%, ultimately spending $1 billion less than Boeing spent on the Starliner.
To make matters worse for Boeing, NASA announced the Starliner launch would be delayed for a year due to a valve issue, which wasn’t a first-time occurrence. Then, in 2019, Boeing messed up an attempt to reach the ISS due to the Starliner vehicle failing to fire its thrusters accurately. Luckily, the attempted flight had no crew.
The Starliner eventually managed to take a weeklong trip to the ISS and land safely in the New Mexico desert in May 2022. This journey made history with Boeing joining SpaceX as the only private company to reach the ISS successfully.
Another point of contention between the fierce rivals is the Mars mission. Elon Musk has been vocal about a crewed mission to Mars as one of his ultimate goals. However, in 2016, Dennis Muilenburg, the CEO of Boeing at the time, vowed that his company would beat Musk to Mars.
NASA seems to have backed this attempt, as it paid Boeing a staggering $9.1 billion to develop the space agency’s Space Launch System rocket. This alliance wasn’t surprising, as Boeing was also deeply involved in the Apollo program.
The Space Launch System rocket is a heavy-lift expendable vehicle. It was developed as NASA’s primary vehicle for deep space exploration and crewed lunar flights, leading to a possible human mission to Mars.
Musk didn’t seem particularly fazed by this possibility and Muilenburg’s promise, responding with a simple two-word tweet – “Do it.”
What has bothered Musk is the heavy government support that Boeing and United Launch Alliance, its joint venture with Lockheed Martin, receive. In 2016, this alliance was paid $860 million simply to exist and maintain the capability of launching rockets.
While such government backing is undoubtedly lucrative, it also generates layers of bureaucracy that can severely hinder the progress of these contractors. In addition, although SpaceX has received some subsidies and worked with the government, the company is largely privately funded.
Furthermore, even when SpaceX negotiates a contract with the government, the contract is typically fixed-price. This means that the company is incentivized to spend less. In contrast, Boeing usually enters into cost-plus contracts that guarantee a percentage of the total spending to the company as pure profit. As a result, Boeing has an incentive to exceed the set budget.
In any case, Boeing and SpaceX are capitalizing on the technological advancements in reusable rocketry that have significantly reduced the cost of getting to orbit. With both companies aggressively competing for NASA and U.S. military contracts, we’re sure this intense rivalry will continue for many years.
But one thing’s sure—the days of Boeing’s dominance in the space industry are long gone.
Northrop Grumman Space Systems
Northrop Grumman Space Systems (NGSS) is a sector of Northrop Grumman, a U.S. aerospace and defense technology company. This sector was formed in 2020, its most essential parts being sectors of companies previously known as Orbital Sciences Corporation and Alliant Techsystems.
Before its merger with Alliant Techsystems, Orbital Sciences Corporation was a worthy rival to SpaceX in its own right. However, while Musk’s MO is staging dramatic unveilings and making headline-grabbing announcements, this company operates in a much more subdued manner.
Orbital Sciences Corporation was founded in 1982 by three Harvard Business School graduates and friends. The company built a considerable reputation in military missile tests, commercial satellite manufacturing, and space launch services.
Orbital Sciences vs. SpaceX
In 2004, NASA launched the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration program, aiming to encourage the development of commercial systems for cargo transport to the ISS.
During the first round of funding in 2006, SpaceX managed to secure $396 million for developing the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. The former was supposed to safely transport people and payloads, while the latter was only reserved for cargo.
When the second round of funding came in 2008, Orbital Sciences managed to get in on the action. The company received $288 million for developing its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft. Unlike SpaceX’s vehicles, these can only ferry cargo to the ISS, and they’ve done so successfully for many years.
As both companies’ efforts proved successful, NASA awarded its first Space Station Commercial Resupply Services Contracts in 2008. Surprisingly to some, Orbital Sciences actually secured more funding than SpaceX for fewer trips. The contracts were valued as follows:
- $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for eight flights
- $1.6 billion to Space X for 12 flights
Although Northrop Grumman purchased the company, the battle with SpaceX over resupply contracts is still ongoing.
In 2016, NASA awarded SpaceX and Northrop resupply contracts for services throughout 2024. Under this Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract, NASA ordered at least six missions from each supplier, with the option of adding more.
In 2022, NASA exercised this option, adding six additional resupply missions to the ISS throughout 2026. These contracts could potentially be valued as high as $14 billion.
Although NGSS and SpaceX are seemingly neck and neck regarding cargo transport to the ISS, this could soon change. Namely, Northrop Grumman is running out of the rockets they use to keep the ISS supplied with consumables.
When Northrop Grumman ran into similar problems in the past, they turned to another SpaceX rival for help: the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Unfortunately, ULA is currently phasing out the rockets Northrop Grumman used to borrow for the resupply missions.
This shortcoming could potentially force Northrop Grumman to ask for help from their closest rival, SpaceX. However, if SpaceX did most of the missions, NASA would likely stop giving resupply contracts to Northrop. So, the question of how Northrop Grumman will keep up with SpaceX remains to be seen.
United Launch Alliance (ULA)
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is the joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space, and Security companies. It was formed in 2006, and it manufactures and operates rocket vehicles for launching spacecraft into the Earth’s orbit and other bodies in the Solar System.
ULA has worked closely with NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense since its inception. Thanks to its ties to the U.S. government and Boeing, it’s been awarded some of the most expensive military satellite launches.
United Launch Alliance has had a significant competitive advantage in the defense launching business for many years, partly due to these close ties. This didn’t sit well with Elon Musk, who eventually succeeded in putting a stop to it.
ULA vs. SpaceX
In 2014, Musk infamously sued the Air Force over awarding a contract solely to ULA. Since the lawsuit was settled, the U.S. military has been awarding multibillion-dollar contracts to both companies through open competition.
This way, the military has avoided legal issues, and SpaceX succeeded in closing the gap between them and their longest-standing competitor.
In 2020, these two companies won National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 contracts, calling for almost three dozen launches from 2022 to 2026. SpaceX won 40% of these missions. A couple of years later, Space Force ordered additional eight missions with the following budget:
- $566 million to ULA for five missions
- $280 million to SpaceX for three missions
Musk hasn’t stopped criticizing United Launch Alliance for the heavy government backing regardless of the contracts. Not one to shy away from speaking his mind, Musk has a few choice words to say about the company and its CEO Tony Bruno.
According to Musk, the goal of SpaceX is to make life multi-planetary, while ULA’s only concern is maximizing dividends to Lockheed and Boeing.
Tony Bruno fought back with an op-ed, trying to clear the air while indirectly accusing Musk of spreading misinformation.
These Twitter spats have become regular, with the real-time rivalry between different aerospace companies playing out over social media. Nowadays, Silicon Valley executives are perceived as celebrities in their own right, and their actions are closely watched.
Musk isn’t particularly shy about engaging in a Twitter feud with anyone, but one rivalry of his stands out for multiple reasons.
Blue Origin
Blue Origin is a privately funded aerospace equipment manufacturer created in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. Bezos has always been interested in space and dreamt about creating outer space colonies even before graduating high school. To that end, Bezos has sold around $1 billion of Amazon stocks to fund his brainchild.
So far, Blue Origin has collaborated with the following institutions and companies:
- NASA
- U.S. Space Force
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- United Launch Alliance
In 2015, Blue Origin entered the game by flying and successfully landing a reusable rocket.
A few years later, Bezos became only the second CEO to go to space in one of his rockets in 2021. With his brother and two crewmates, Bezos boarded the Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and successfully completed its maiden voyage.
The flight was suborbital and lasted for 11 minutes. Thanks to its success, bidders are rushing to secure their seats on the next flight, with the highest bid reportedly reaching $28 million.
Although Jeff Bezos sees his company as a big player, Blue Origin has a long way to go before flying passengers and payloads regularly. However, Bezos’ enormous financial resources make his company one of the top competitors of Musk and SpaceX.
Blue Origin vs. SpaceX
Although the animosity between Bezos and Musk seemingly dates back to the early years of their companies, the first official conflict occurred in 2013.
The source of conflict was SpaceX trying to secure exclusive rights to using a NASA launch pad. Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance attempted to stop this from happening by filing a formal protest with the government. However, Bezos insisted on converting the pad into a spaceport available to all launch companies.
Musk perceived this move as a “phony blocking tactic” and used it to take a dig at Blue Origin’s lack of achievements. Eventually, Musk won this battle, and SpaceX received exclusive rights to take over the pad.
The next battle happened the very next year over a patent. Blue Origin was granted a patent for drone ships landing rocket boosters. As a result, SpaceX would have to pay to use this technology in the future. It seems this wasn’t a viable option for them, so the company petitioned to invalidate the patent, claiming this concept has been around for decades.
Once again, SpaceX emerged victorious, and Blue Origin had to withdraw most of its claims to the patent.
The rivalry between Blue Origin and SpaceX has always seemed more personal than with other companies. In fact, Musk claimed Bezos has tried to persuade SpaceX’s top talent to move to Blue Origin by offering to double their salaries.
These claims set the tone for the next few years of this bitter rivalry, with Musk and Bezos making public digs at each other.
In 2020, NASA asked both companies to submit designs for lunar landers for the Artemis mission. This mission aimed to get humans back to the Moon by 2024. The companies had 10 months to submit their designs for the Human Landing System (HLS) Program, the final mode of transportation in the Artemis mission. This opened a new arena of competition for the two archrivals.
Ultimately, NASA selected SpaceX for the $2.9 billion contract. So naturally, this decision didn’t sit well with Blue Origin and the third contender Dynetics. As a result, both companies filed protests with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Blue Origin’s protest had 50 pages, but this wasn’t enough to convince the GAO, which rejected both protests.
NASA claimed it couldn’t award the contract to two companies due to budget concerns and lack of federal funding. However, this explanation wasn’t satisfactory to Blue Origin, so the company sued NASA. Although the agency initially agreed to pause the work temporarily on the contract, the court eventually sided with them and ruled against Bezos’ company.
This ruling marked another loss for Bezos and his Blue Origin to SpaceX. But, while the losses seemingly keep accumulating, it doesn’t look like Bezos is ready to throw in the towel any time soon.
These two billionaires have also been battling for the No. 1 spot on the world’s richest person list since 2021. So naturally, they have the funds to keep the space race going.
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic is a U.S. spaceflight company founded in 2004 by British billionaire Richard Branson. Branson’s primary focus is suborbital rides, and he hopes to start commercial flights in 2023. However, Virgin Galactic poses no competition to SpaceX regarding space research and traveling to other planets.
Branson became the first CEO of a space tourism company to reach space. The billionaire and three employees soared 53 miles on a Virgin Galactic rocket and returned safely to the ground. This was also the rocket’s maiden voyage with a crew.
Virgin Galactic vs. SpaceX
When it comes to technology and space travel, Virgin Galactic is on the same level as SpaceX. Since Branson’s successful space trip in 2021, about 600 affluential space enthusiasts have booked their seats on a Virgin Galactic flight, with a starting price of $450,000 per seat. For the cost, you’ll also get a custom-made flight suit and two-day training at the Spaceport America facility in New Mexico.
The company also offers professional astronaut training and microgravity research for $600,000 per ticket. Although the current price point is pretty steep, Virgin Galactic’s goal is to lower the seat price to $40,000.
What sets Virgin Galactic apart from SpaceX and other competitors is that they don’t operate a rocket. Instead, the flights are carried out using a space plane dubbed VSS Unity or SpaceShipTwo. This spacecraft is launched from a carrier plane called VMS Eve or White Knight Two. SpaceShipTwo is Virgin Galactic’s only operational spacecraft for now, though they’re working on SpaceShipThree.
The company focuses solely on space travel, so it has a strong chance of beating SpaceX in this field. That is, of course, if nothing goes wrong with any of the planned commercial flights.
Unfortunately, Virgin Galactic hasn’t had the best track record with accidents:
- In 2007, three crew members died while testing SpaceShipTwo’s engines on the ground. Three other members were injured.
- In 2014, a pilot died in a catastrophic crash during the first space plane test. The co-pilot was seriously injured.
- In 2021, Richard Branson’s flight went off trajectory but managed to land safely.
In contrast, SpaceX hasn’t lost any crew members while flying or testing equipment. Safety is of utmost importance in these suborbital space experiences. So, Virgin Galactic will have to step up its game if they wish to establish dominance in this field.
The Battlefield of the Future
Unlike most other companies, SpaceX almost exclusively works alone on significant projects. However, due to avoiding partnering with others and still achieving impressive results, it seems like SpaceX has become a target of other competitors.
This is understandable, as one company gaining too much control over the space market would mean “game over” for future competitors. But they are not the only ones that should fear this worst-case scenario.
After all, a space monopoly is equally as harmful as any monopoly on Earth. In this case, a single company—or a single man—could influence how humans use resources in space.
Considering the high stakes, we’re sure no company will allow this to happen. This probably means the space battle will rage for many years.