7. It's A Private Company That Has Achieved More Than Whole Countries
SpaceX, compared to the world's major space programmes, is just a baby at not even 10 years old yet. Despite this, it has already achieved more than many others have not. Brazil and South Korea, two countries with national space programmes, has so far been unable to put anything into orbit, whereas SpaceX, as of May 2015 has flown six missions to the ISS. In the private sphere there are many other companies jumping on the space tourism bandwagon. Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic project might grab the headlines, but SpaceX is already much more advanced and has already won millions of dollars worth of business contracts. This is all despite being, by most definitions, the underdog. The company isn't supported by any of the major players in aviation and aerospace, it's basically a start-up with big dreams.
