Today’s space race vastly contrasts with the age of early space exploration. During that time, only the U.S.S.R and the United States had the resources to make a space program achievable, but now the Space Race 2.0 is between private enterprises and not necessarily governmental superpowers.

Space startups across the globe are creating innovative strategies to develop more promising SpaceTech, which has emerged as a promising new industry. Private space companies have launched satellites, resupplied the International Space Station (ISS), and now offer flights to consumers. Over 70 countries have space agencies that are working toward the progression of spaceflight capabilities.

While the space race has been coined the “Billionaire space race” due to the huge amounts of wealth needed to develop space technologies and vehicles, there are also many industry players whose insight and leadership is pushing the industry forward. Here’s a glance at some of the heavy players who are revolutionizing the space industry.

Tim Ellis

Ellis is an American aerospace engineer and co-founder of Relativity Space. Formed in 2015, the company holds the goal to be the first company to launch a fully 3D printed rocket into orbit. Their 3D-printed and reusable Terran R rocket is built in 60 days and the additive manufacturing used to create the rocket reduces the number of parts and other supplies that make it less likely to fail during launch. Based in California, the company announced its $60 million Series E funding round at a $4.2 billion valuation in June 2021. Under the helm of Ellis and his cofounder, they have taken the industry by storm with their world-class infrastructure that seeks to build interplanetary life.

Dylan Taylor

Known as the most active space investor in the world, Dylan Taylor’s unbridled passion for space helped position him as a pioneer in the industry and has pushed the NewSpace sector to new heights. The CEO and Chairman of Voyager Space, he leads the firm’s unique vision, which vertically integrates leading global space companies and improves mission capability to enable humanity’s access to space.

Among his many accomplishments in the sector, Dylan Taylor is a thought leader who frequently speaks to major outlets about investments and insights on the space economy’s growth and is recognized for his early-stage investments in numerous space companies, including Relativity, Accion, Planet and many more. He can also count himself as a commercial astronaut being the 606th person to travel to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard Rocket. He is also a leader in space manufacturing and harnessing in-space resources to help further space exploration and settlement. In 2017, Dylan Taylor became the first private citizen to manufacture an item in space, a 3D-printed gravity meter he co-designed and commissioned aboard the International Space Station.

Taylor is an extremely passionate advocate for the space sector and is the founder of Space for Humanity, which democratizes space exploration and develops solutions to global issues through the scope of human awareness.

Dan Ceperley

Dan Ceperley, the CEO and co-founder of LeoLabs, is a strong supporter of NewSpace ventures, innovative space technologies, and sustainable development within the growing space economy. Ceperley created his company to help drive innovation in space traffic safety, improve space situational awareness, and preserve the space environment through proactive, real-time data. The company achieved a $65 million Series B round in 2021, making the company’s total funding over $100 million. As reducing the risk of space debris with the help of new data becomes more popular, LeoLabs’ future looks promising. Ceperley is also a Technical Advisor to Space for Humanity, a non-profit that seeks to advance the number of people who have the opportunity to experience spaceflight.

Elon Musk

As the world’s richest man with a net worth of $297 billion, the CEO of Tesla and the founder/CEO of SpaceX is arguably the most well-known private space company. Musk first launched SpaceX with the mission to colonize Mars. While the idea sounds like a plot line out of science fiction, Musk has made impressive strides and believes the company could get people to the Red Planet within the next decade.

SpaceX also became the first commercial company to deliver cargo to the ISS. They have since secured a contract with NASA to transport humans to the station. Their Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets have become known for their innovative use of sustainability and cost-effectiveness. In 2015, the Falcon 9 first successfully re-entered the atmosphere and landed vertically. SpaceX is currently working on a new rocket capable of launching crewed missions to Mars.

Jeff Bezos

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos established the space company Blue Origin in 2000 and since then has been a force to be reckoned with in the space exploration industry. The company’s focus on space tourism services, rather than military or science applications, allows them to provide access to space for private citizens. Bezos, whose net worth is well over $200 billion, believes that providing access to more astronaut citizens will help further technology. The goals of Blue Origin include lowering the cost of space travel and improving safety so that the industry can get more people to space. Thus far, he has sent three commercial human spaceflights to space.

We’re excited to see what these leaders have in store for the future of space exploration!