The Past and Future of Access to Space

This week’s successful launch of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket reaffirmed the future of America’s access to space. It wasn’t so much the take-off as the vertical landing of the first-stage booster and engines that was so exciting.

This private sector initiative followed on the heels of a similar feat last month by another design, the so-called New Shepard launch vehicle of another billionaire, Jeff Bezos. His Blue Origin company demonstrated the ability to fly sub-orbitally and recover for reuse the entire system.

These breakthroughs were first demonstrated nearly a quarter century ago by an audacious Defense Department and NASA program known as the Delta Clipper. It has taken this long – and the enterprise of wealthy visionaries – to realize the promise of the DC-X. Now it is time to actualize it for military, as well as civilian, uses of space.