Starship, New Glenn, and the Commercialization of Space

Salar Sekhavat,

What the development of heavy-lift vehicles means for our future in space

SpaceX is used to fiery sights. For years, the company has refined an approach to spaceflight that involves taking leaps and bounds instead of small steps—and when it comes to rocketry, leaps and bounds typically include explosions (1). Starship Flight 7, which launched on January 16, 2025, stayed true to that trend, and Starship itself exploded in a sparkling cascade of debris over Turks and Caicos (2). But when Starship’s booster burned to an angry stop in the arms of “Mechazilla” (a tower-like structure meant to catch the booster), it marked the beginning of a new period of space exploration.

The Starship booster has been caught once before, during Flight 5 in October of 2024. However, what makes Flight 7 so special is how it reflects the accelerating development of high-caliber commercial rocketry. Only nine years ago, SpaceX’s workhorse rocket, the Falcon 9, had not even landed a first stage (3). Less than two years ago, Starship had not flown yet. Now, Starship flight tests occur nearly monthly, except when the FAA grounds the rocket to investigate potential problems. Furthermore, in the three months between Flights 5 and 7, SpaceX introduced a suite of Starship improvements. These changes not only made Starship the heaviest and tallest flying vehicle built by humankind but also gave it an immense upgrade in overall performance (4). Just a few hours after Flight 7, Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, successfully launched its New Glenn rocket, designed to rival SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and its larger cousin, the Falcon Heavy (5). Although New Glenn’s reusable booster stage failed to land, Blue Origin has taken a strong step forward into the commercial space scene (5). With such successes occurring at an ever-increasing rate, we must recognize the implications that these capabilities have for our future in space.

With all 33 first-stage Raptor engines lit, Starship roars upwards (1).

New Glenn can shuttle over 50 metric tonnes of payload (cargo) per launch to a low orbit around the Earth. Starship can lift over 150 tons of payload. Both of these craft therefore classify as “heavy-lift” vehicles and mark a huge leap in cargo capacity over smaller rockets like the Falcon 9 (6). The boons of having so much payload cannot be understated. 88% of current satellites are located in low Earth orbit—the bubble of space that is within 2000 km of Earth—and these satellites provide invaluable location, communication, and scientific services for everyone on Earth (7). Bringing tens or hundreds of satellites to orbit every launch will transform the scale and reliability of satellite groups. Besides satellites, these heavy-lift craft will also fundamentally change access to space. Not only will their reusable boosters cheapen launch costs, but their sheer size means that large and oddly-shaped payloads can be brought to orbit. These payloads include anything from space station modules to advanced machinery. Indeed, Starship and New Glenn will give companies like Axiom Space, which plans to construct a commercial space station, a straightforward way to get components into space (8). If brought to full operational capacity, these launch vehicles will initiate a shift away from small-satellite launches toward genuine space infrastructure. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have ambitious goals for their respective vehicles, which include objectives like colonizing Mars and returning to the Moon, and if these organizations make good on their promises, we may see thousands of humans in space very soon (9).

Long-exposure photo of New Glenn arcing into the sky (2).

However, the rapid commercialization of space brings a variety of concomitant risks. Prime among these is the concern that unfettered space launches will handicap themselves by introducing vast amounts of debris into space (10). Space debris poses a safety risk to all space operations, especially unarmored small satellites, which make up the bulk of space objects (10). In the near future, there is the potential for debris to break apart a spacecraft into more debris that then hits other spacecraft in a chain reaction known as Kessler Syndrome (10). Although currently unlikely, such a scenario would damage or destroy nearly all of the space infrastructure that keeps the world running, so it must be prevented. The commercialization of space also poses economic concerns, since it is not ideal to let private companies explore space at an ever-increasing pace without accompanying regulation (11). Allowing these companies access to the dearth of resources in space, ranging from metal-rich asteroids to the surfaces of other planets, will exacerbate wealth inequality on Earth while simultaneously promoting the overconsumption of space resources (11). In order to keep space an opportunity for humanity to truly explore, settle, and grow as one, governments have to direct companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to use their technologies for peoples’ greater benefit, not just money.

Humans have dreamed of the stars for thousands of years, and now we can finally make those dreams a reality. Through massive technological advances in space launch vehicles, private companies are paving the way for a dedicated and thriving space society. However, as human growth into the cosmos accelerates, we must consider the dangers of unchecked advancements. Space is a special place. Humans must take care not to clutter it, twist it for geopolitical gain, or ruin it for money. But with these new vehicles, and a new era of commercial space exploration on the horizon, we now have the power to direct this future.

Images

  1. https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/01/fire-destroys-starship-on-its-seventh-test-flight-raining-debris-from-space/
  2. https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8832112/new-glenn-launch-signals-new-era-space-launch-complex-36

Sources

  1. SpaceX (2017, September 14). How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ
  2. Wattles, J., & Strickland, A. (2025, January 16). SpaceX executes “chopsticks” booster catch but Starship spacecraft explosion temporarily diverts flights. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/16/science/spacex-starship-megarocket-test-launch/index.html
  3. Logsdon, J. M. (2009, April 8). Falcon | Definition, History, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/technology/Falcon-launch-vehicle
  4. Wall, M. (2025, January 16). SpaceX catches Super Heavy booster on Starship Flight 7 test but loses upper stage (video, photos). Space.com; Space. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-catches-super-heavy-booster-on-starship-flight-7-test-but-loses-upper-stage-video-photos
  5. Tingley, B., & Dinner, J. (2025, January 16). Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launches massive New Glenn rocket into orbit on 1st flight (video). Space.com; Space. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-launches-massive-new-glenn-rocket-into-orbit-on-1st-flight-video
  6. McConnaughey, P. et al. (2010, November). NASA Launch Propulsion Systems Technology Area Roadmap – TA01. NASA. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160324110232/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/500393main_TA01-LaunchPropulsion-DRAFT-Nov2010-A.pdf
  7. Statista (2022). Number of active satellites in orbit 2022, by type | Statista. Statista. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1422630/number-of-active-satellites-in-orbit-by-type/
  8. Axiom Space (2024). Axiom Station — Axiom Space. Axiomspace.com. Retrieved from https://www.axiomspace.com/axiom-station
  9. SpaceX. (2024). SpaceX Human Spaceflight. SpaceX. Retrieved from https://www.spacex.com/humanspaceflight/
  10. Broom, D. (2022, January 12). As private satellites increase in number, what are the risks of the commercialization of space? World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/01/what-are-risks-commercial-exploitation-space/
  11. Nam, Y. (2023). One-Way Ticket to Mars: The Privatization of the Space Industry and its Environmental Impact on Earth and Beyond. Volume 19, Issue 1. Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1248&context=njlsp