Introduction
The SpaceX corporation does space exploration and has rocket scientists. It is led by the famous businessman Elon Musk, has several high-profile goals having to do with space exploration, and has built a lot of advanced technology. They use the concepts of gravity, velocity, and kinetic energy in their designs. This blog post will describe SpaceX’s technology and goals, discuss their use of the energy and force concepts of gravity, velocity, and kinetic energy, and provide an analysis of these ideas.
SpaceX’s Goals and Technology
SpaceX has several space-related goals, but a particularly important and interesting one is that they want to set up life on Mars. In this short video, Elon Musk and others who work at SpaceX are interviewed about being part of this effort to bring life to Mars.
As described in the video, the first step is to figure out how to create an atmosphere on Mars that humans can live in. SpaceX is planning to put greenhouse gasses on Mars to neutralize the environment, and make it warm enough to live in for humans. Also, they discuss the issue of bringing people there in the first place. All the employees seem very proud to be working on such high level technology.
In addition to setting up life on Mars, SpaceX is working on perfecting transportation back and forth through space by way of their Dragon and Falcon 9 spaceships. Not only do they want to perfect using these vessels as “cargo ships” that can bring supplies back and forth to the International Space Station (ISS), but they also want to become a “space taxi” for astronauts.
SpaceX’s use of Energy and Force Concepts
On SpaceX’s web site, one of their posts describes specifically the energy and force concepts behind the Falcon 9. First, they provide an in-depth description of gravity and how it works in space. They explain that gravity is the reason that “escape velocity” is needed to escape the Earth’s orbit. They also explain how gravity extends into the universe, and even though a spaceship may not be in the Earth’s atmosphere, it still is subject to gravity.
Next, they explain the importance of velocity relative to gravity. They point out that it seems that the astronauts who are on the space station are in “zero gravity” because they are floating around. They say:
This is because they are actually moving around Earth’s gravity funnel at the blistering speed of 27,000 km/h (17,000 mph), completing a round-the-world trip every 90 minutes!
They explain that the reason for this is that there is no net acceleration for these individuals, so they appear to be standing still.
Finally, they discuss the importance of the force of kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion, and is defined as mass times volume. SpaceX describes the challenge of having to cause a 125 metric ton Falcon 9 rocket accelerate to 8000 km/h and land on an ocean platform, or to accelerate to 5000 km/h and land back at the launch site.
What’s Next for SpaceX?
I believe that the work that is being done by SpaceX is important work, and should be completed. It is important to continuously build on our knowledge of space, and internationally, there are very few institutions dedicated to this research. It was good that NASA led this effort in the beginning, but NASA is part of the government, so this creates a limitation. The limitations associated with government do not apply to the private sector, so SpaceX has had the flexibility to be more creative. This could be a good thing as we go forward, because the limitation of government might get in the way of innovation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, SpaceX has several goals, but their main focus is on developing the ability to live on Mars, and further developing Dragon and Falcon 9, their spaceships, into cargo ships and space taxis. They discuss on their web page the important forces of gravity, velocity, and kinetic energy, and how they relate to their technology. In my analysis, it is good that SpaceX is a private company, because that allows it to be more creative and innovative than a governmental agency.
Image of spaceship from Pixabay.