Trump and the Space Industry (feat. Elon Musk)

●Trump and the Space Industry (feat. Elon Musk)

• Trump and the space industry are closely related, with Elon Musk’s SpaceX at the center. The significance of SpaceX is that space development has taken a huge opportunity in the transition from the public to the private sector to the so-called “New Space” era and played a role in greatly expanding the space industry ecosystem by generating numerous startups
• The Obama administration abolished NASA’s space shuttle project in 2011, abolished NASA’s constellation program in 2010, and decided that it would be possible to reach the International Space Station through a private company
• During the first phase of the Trump administration, space policy moved toward emphasizing U.S. space exploration and the strengthening of defense space capabilities. In June 2017, the National Space Council (NSC) was revived to coordinate U.S. civilian, commercial, and defense space policies. In December 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense created the Space Force to strengthen defense capabilities in space (the first independent military type since the establishment of the Air Force in 1947). In December 2017, the Space Policy Guidelines (SPD) were released, and in March 2019, the famous Artemis program was announced. And in October 2020, at the end of his term, he announced the Artemis Accords (the U.S. and seven countries) and led by NASA to organize guidelines of action and cooperation principles related to lunar exploration with international partners
• At Trump’s inauguration, Trump mentioned that he would put an American flag on Mars as America’s “fate mission.” Trump, Elon Musk, and NASA are moving toward a common goal of Mars. Meanwhile, the Trump administration established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to increase government efficiency. It is likely that Trump will aggressively implement policies to recover the seeds of space policy that he planted in the first phase, and Elon Musk will play a key role at the center
• The Trump administration’s goal is to stabilize the U.S. economy, but the problem lies in the government debt, which is rising compared to the first term in 2016. When he was elected in 2016, he was able to easily implement fiscal policies because the burden of government spending was not greater than it is now. However, since it is difficult to implement excessive fiscal policies due to the already high government debt and interest rates, he will focus on efficiency in the early days of the administration. As the head of GE, Elon Musk’s role is to efficiently reduce administration and reduce costs. By transforming NASA’s existing cost-added method into a private-centered performance-reward method, the government will seek to reduce costs through technological innovation, and accelerate monetization to induce the effect of falling water to the private sector to increase overall cost efficiency of the industry
• The investment idea here is that Trump and Elon Musk will advance the era of New Space to the private sector in earnest, with its trickle-down effect spreading to other countries and expanding investment opportunities for private space companies

[The history of SpaceX]

• In March 2002, Elon Musk founded SpaceX with the vision of building a Martian colony (it was changed to PayPal when it merged with a company called “Confinity” founded by Max Levechin and Peter Thiel in 1999 and Elon Musk’s X-Com in 2000, and Elon Musk’s $100 million dividend when it was acquired by eBay in 2002 was $100 million from SpaceX, $70 million from Tesla, and $10 million from SolarCity)
• NASA has moved its leadership on space innovation from public to private, following the IT bubble, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and, crucially, the February 2003 midair disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia, and SpaceX’s opportunity
• Falcon 1’s first launch attempt was in October 2005, but without permission, it was first launched in March 2006 at its fourth attempt. It became the first private company to reach orbit in September 2008 following a series of failures from 2006 to 2008
• In December 2008, NASA and SpaceX’s Commercial Orbit Transportation Services (COTS) agreement laid the groundwork for SpaceX’s stable growth
• Falcon 9 successfully launched in 2010; dragon capsule docked to the International Space Station in May 2012
• In December 2015, Falcon 9’s first stage rocket safely landed on the ground after launch, marking a turning point in reusable rocket technology
• In February 2018, Falcon Heavy succeeded in its first launch, in June 2024, in its fourth test flight, in its Starship launch, and in October 2024, it successfully landed on the chopstick arm of “mecazilla”
• 2021 Agreement With NASA To Offer Starship With Artemis Plan’s HLS (Human Landing System)
• Expectations for easing Federal Aviation Administration launch regulations under the Trump administration -> Starship Expects an increase in the number of launches from the current five to a maximum of 25 (Request submitted in July 24)
• The Starlink business plans to launch 42,000 low-orbit small satellites that can cover 200 people per unit, resulting in annual revenue of $11 billion, excluding equipment sales at a monthly fee of $110. As of 2024, Starlink’s annual revenue was around $10 billion. It will start service in most parts of the world starting in 2025, and Korea will also start service this year

[The history of Blue Origin]

• In September 2000, Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin for space travel
• In 2010, a contract for space exploration technology was signed in collaboration with NASA
• New Shepard rocket successfully test-fired in 2015 and succeeded in opening the era of civilian space tourism by succeeding New Shepard’s first manned space flight in 2021
• In May 2023, NASA Named Second Supplier Of Artemis Lunar Lander Project
• January 16, New Glenn first launched. The second stage rocket succeeded in entering target orbit, but failed to retrieve the first stage rocket, making it half successful
• Jeff Bezos is preparing Project Kuiper, a low-orbit satellite service that will compete with Starlink. It will launch more than 3,000 satellites, with Newglen playing a central role

[Artemis project]

• In the second phase of Trump, private companies such as SpaceX are collaborating under the leadership of NASA