Rocket Lab (RKLB) Spotlight: A New Challenger To SpaceX? - Securities.Io

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Since the last landing on the Moon by Apollo 17 in 1972, men have not ventured into space further than near-Earth orbit. This can also be considered the date at which space technology started a long era of stagnation.

Many factors have driven this relative regression after the spectacular progress of the USA-Soviet space race.

Another reason was the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, leading to an even less competitive landscape for space exploration.

Lastly, another less often admitted reason is the growing bureaucracy of NASA and other space agencies. Without the hurry of a rival, space travel became a very routine and less ambitious endeavor. NASA became risk-averse and never really looked to replace the retired space shuttle. Contractors like Boeing would still provide rocket engines and launches but without much of a drive to push for new capacities or take any significant risks.

This was until 2002, when a relatively unknown tech entrepreneur named Elon Musk would create SpaceX. In more than 2 decades, the company has reignited interest in space exploration, demonstrated reusable rockets were possible, and radically cut costs to reach orbit.

This not only had the effect of bringing the fresh air of private enterprise and competition into the space sector. It also demonstrated to investors that it was actually possible, and that space was a perfectly valid new segment of "tech" ventures.

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