Competition has always lead mankind through both the darkest and the brightest peaks of its own existence. It was May 1945 when Soviet Union eventually made it to Berlin. By then, world and history were split apart: East and West were more than boundaries.
Cold War has been enhanced on multiple layers: militar, ideological, communicational and technological as well. In a bunch of years, U.S.A and Soviet Union literally pushed themselves through the stars. Indeed, Space Race was definetely more than propaganda.
Thirty years later, in 1975, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project set forth the very first partnership between United States of America and Soviet Union for what concerns human spaceflight matter.
This was a huge door opened to the future development of space exploration, which finally lead to the launch of International Space Station. It was 1998. One of the most prolifique international cooperation in human history, just started.
Over the years, NASA emerged as the main contributor to space missions, and still its name is etched in history after 1969 moonlanding, while U.S.A. stood out as the winner of Space Race.
This webpage aims to explore the current scenario, where collaborations between private companies and national agencies are turning space operations into an unprecedented scientific and economic model. Will this new space game might be able to push humans further than ever?
The timeline displays the milestones and
the main events that occured from 1961 to 1998.
Hover on coloured bullet point to read more about missions.
Scroll horizontally to get through time and
find out the main contributor
in international cooperation.
U.S.A.
U.S.S.R.
Jurij Alekseevič Gagarin is the first man to journey into outer space when his Vostok spacecraft completes one orbit of the Earth.
Better known as Mercury-Redstone 3, is the first U.S.A. human spaceflight, part of Project Mercury piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard.
Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman and civilian to fly in space, having been selected from more than 400 applicants and 5 finalists.
sources:
//nasa/nscd.gov
//nasa/topics/history.gov
Wikipedia datas
scraped by hand.
Conducted with US Air Force, it’s the first launch and spaceflight technology supporting reusable spacecraft instead of rockets.
First crewed spaceflight into orbit, the first flight without the use of spacesuits, and the first to carry two scientists into outer space.
Alexey Leonov became the first person to leave the spacecraft in a specialized space suit to conduct a 12-minute “spacewalk”.
First U.S.A. crewed spaceflight and manned reentry, where the spacecraft was able to produce lift to change its touchdown point.
First U.S.A. astronaut to conduct a 20 minutes “spacewalk”, and first U.S.A. spaceflight to approach the five-days flight record of Vostok 5.
First U.S.A. mission to achieve a manned rendezvous with another spacecraft, as close as 30 cm, with chance of docking if it was suitably equipped.
First manned docking: cosmonauts had to spacewalk from one vehicle to the other, since connecting tunnel hasn’t been improved yet.
Crewmen perform the first manned flight of the Lunar Module, in order to test several critical aspects about landing on the Moon.
The first moonlanding in mankind history. Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin are the first people to step onto the lunar surface.
World’s first mission to the world’s first space station, the Soviet Salyut 1. First of numerous docking failures in future URSS Space Program.
First Lunar Roving Vehicle drive test and first one of the so called “J missions”: long stays on the Moon, with a greater focus on science.
First cooperative U.S.A – Soviet spaceflight, as a symbol of the policy of détente that the two superpowers are pursuing at this time.
First modular space station, assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. It had a greater mass than any previous spacecraft. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted multidisciplinary scientific experiments and spacecraft systems technology required for permanent occupation of space.
First collaborative space program, which involved U.S.A. Space Shuttles visiting the MIR and Russian cosmonauts flying on the Shuttle as well, in order to engage in long-duration expeditions.
Although project was approved by then-president Ronald Reagan and announced in the 1984 State of the Union address, it was never constructed. The 1990 Space Exploration Initiative called for the construction of Freedom, thogh after several cutbacks, the project evenutally evolved into the International Space Station.
Total amount of costs is calculated within 2011, when last pressurised module was fitted in ISS.
ISS is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA, ESA, Roscosmos (ex-RKA), JAXA and CSA: the ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. ISS is expected to operate till’ 2028: its first component was launched into orbit in 1998.
The ISS currently serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in different scientific fields. The station is suited for the testing of new spacecraft systems and the equipment required for future space missions both to the Moon and Mars.
$122,8bn
$5bn
$12bn
$5bn
$2bn
all images credits belong to
//nasa.gov & //spacefacts.com
The space environment is no longer the sole preserve of government agencies, which now face competition and partnerships with corporations, sharing their own long-term goals. Indeed, private companies have entered the exploration domain and are propelling the sector.
In just over 15 years, SpaceX has muscled its way to the stars with Falcon Heavy succesful launch, now world’s most powerful rocket. No one expected a brand new space age to erupt, but latest business trends may mark the return of space race.
Through July 26th 2018, financial data firm Preqin tracked worldwide venture investment in aerospace sector, totaling US$ 927 million. Dynamics that stem from this new economic trend, put in evidence how collaborations and partnership are turning competition into a huge relay race between national agencies and private corporations.
NASA is nor just rationally considered as a leader in space exploration, but it emerges as the main contributor within international collaborations. Indeed, we take it into consideration as the main player and we look at US market as the most suitable context.
The purpose of this analysis is to enlighten the complexity of money flow within sector agreements in United States of America. Data visualizations aim to show how a big player such NASA, is dealing with private companies in terms of investments and purposes.
DEALS
MONEY
Hover on circles to get more informations.
Doughnut charts display deals and investments
between NASA and institutional/private partners.
PRIVATES
INSTITUTIONS
894/1368
474/1368
914 697 753 $ /
950 797 753$
36 099 971 $ /
950 797 753$
PRIVATES
MINOR COMPANIES
MAJOR COMPANIES
663 partners have taken part in NASA agreements within 2018. Who are they ? Hover on doughnut to read more. Minor companies have not been considered in next data visualization, as the total amount of agreements value is less worth than 0,1% of NASA full investment.
INSTITUTIONS
UNIVERSITIES
STATE LOCAL DEPARTMENTS
SCHOOLS
NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
To go deep into our analysis, we retrieved data from official nasa.gov partnership reports. The timeframe we consider include active agreements within July 2018. Datasets embed all Space Act Agreements between the agency and various partners to advance its mission and program objectives in space activities. There are three main types of agreements that we take into account. NASA undertakes reimbursable agreements when it has unique goods, services and facilities that are not currently being fully utilized to accomplish mission needs. Nonreimbursable agreements involve NASA and partner in a mutually benificial activity that furthers the Agency’s Missions. The worthest agreements are the Funded ones. This contract is undertaken when appropriated funds are transferred to partners to accomplish an Agency mission. We further clusterize different purposes behind NASA & partners agreements in 10 main categories in order to better define the goal of any contract.
Earth & exoplanetary science, collaborations on airspace operations.
Commercialization activities, commercial space launch development.
Materials innovation & launch vehicle propulsion advancement.
Software development & GPS applications.
Training & testing activities for manned spaceflight
Launch systems, flight & tech testing, failure analysis & improvement.
Outreach activities & teaching.
Conferences, exhibitions & other public engagement activities.
Drilling operations.
All data have been retreived from: NASA\Partnership, 2018 | www.nasa.gov
DATASET #1
DATASET #2
NASA is giving trust to many private companies, providing investments for a total amount reaching the billion. Although the Funded agreements, which are the most valuable types of contract, are quantitatively lower if compared to others, they represent the worthiest agreement. This is due to a more immediate and effective disbursement. Besides proclamation and declarations of intents, the human space exploration is nor the only or the largest domain, collecting NASA investments and agreements with private partners.
However, the most notable and bold question deals with the most talked-about companies of the moment. Indeed, even if NASA is supporting major private companies with investments on mutually shared goals, there are odds that this will enable the single corporation to reach other individual purposes ahead. Once again, competition and collaboration are about to mark the determining step inthe future of space exploration.