The Launch of Commercial Space Exploration Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which company was the first to launch a privately developed rocket to orbit and soon after develop the ability to vertically land orbital-class rocket boosters?

Answer: SpaceX

From 1981 to 2011 NASA's Space Shuttle Program showed the world that a spacecraft sent into orbit could successfully be returned and then re-flown multiple times. SpaceX has prioritized reuse during the development of its Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship. This hinges upon the vertical landing of the booster rocket's first stage, a feat which was first accomplished in 2015 with a Falcon 9. Additionally, SpaceX's Falcon 1 was the first privately developed rocket to orbit Earth.

Boeing, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin all played a part in the growth of the commercial space industry during the 00's and 10's.

2. The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) developed a spacecraft which closely resembles the Space Shuttles. What is the name of this ambitious commercial spacecraft?

Answer: Dream Chaser

SNC was an early member in NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program. Although NASA since chose to fund Boeing and SpaceX through CCDev, SNC still plans to develop its Dream Chaser rocket. The X-20 Dyna-Soar was a space-plane the Air Force considered developing during the late 1950's.

The Atlas-Agena rockets were launched during the 1960's and 1970's. Starship is the name of a SpaceX rocket.

3. Rockets are by no means cheap, and for this reason many private space companies are significantly funded by billionaires. Which of these billionaires did NOT play a major role in the development of the commercial space industry?

Answer: Donald Trump

Billionaire Jeff Bezos was well known for founding Amazon. However, he has stated Blue Origin was his most important business. Elon Musk was widely known for co-founding the electric car manufacturer Tesla. However, in addition to being CEO of Tesla, Musk was also CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX. Richard Branson is known for founding Virgin Group in the 1970s. One of his more recent ventures is Virgin Galactic, a company founded with the initial goal of flying paying tourists to space via a space-plane. Donald Trump was known for his hotel businesses and being the 45th President of the United States.

Although he influenced the creation of the United States Space Force, the President did not personally found or fund any commercial space company.

4. SpaceX became a major launch service provider during the 2010s. On February 6th, 2018 it successfully debuted the Falcon Heavy during its inaugural launch. What was the rocket's payload to a solar orbit?

Answer: The CEO's car with a life-size mannequin driver

On February 6th, 2018 SpaceX had a highly successful inaugural launch of the Falcon Heavy. This rocket consisted of a central booster connected to two Falcon 9 boosters. While many rocket demonstrations involve the launch of a heavy item (such as a concrete block) CEO and chief engineer Elon Musk considered this "boring." He decided to shake up this tradition by launching his own bright red Tesla Roadster into space.

A mannequin dubbed "Starman" donned a SpaceX spacesuit and sat in the driver's seat. Additionally, during the launch David Bowie's "Space Oddity" was blasted on the car's speakers.

A live-stream showed the car and Starman in space with a spectacular view of Earth in the background.

5. During the 2010's a large number of small satellite launch companies came into the limelight. Which of these is NOT one of the small satellite launch companies?

Answer: Comet Space

Comet Space is just a made up company name. Firefly Aerospace has headquarters in Austin Texas with a launch site at Cape Canaveral. Rocket Lab was founded by New Zealander Peter Beck, and its first launch site is located in New Zealand. Vector Launch was founded in 2016, but declared bankruptcy in 2019 after failing to obtain necessary levels of funding.

6. Named in honor of the first American astronaut to reach space, what did Blue Origin decide to call its first rocket?

Answer: New Shepard

New Shepard is the name of Blue Origin's first rocket. It was able to land vertically and was designed to launch tourists or research experiments briefly into space. It is named after Alan Shepard who became the first American to enter outer space launching on Mercury-Redstone 3. Later Shepard became the first person to golf on the lunar surface during Apollo 14.

The other answers are all names of other Mercury astronauts.

7. On October 31, 2014 a test flight of the VSS Enterprise encountered an unexpected failure which resulted in the loss of the vehicle and the tragic death of one of its two pilots. Which company built the VSS Enterprise?

Answer: Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic built and flew the VSS Enterprise. It was launched in flight from a carrier plane called WhiteKnightTwo, and then ignited its engine enabling it to briefly travel to space before returning to land at Virgin Galactic's spaceport in New Mexico. While pilot Peter Siebold escaped the disaster wounded, co-pilot Michael Alsbury sadly lost his life that day.

8. The Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets operated by SpaceX contain RP-1 Kerosene and Liquid Oxygen within their fuel tanks. This fuel is required to power which SpaceX designed engine?

Answer: Merlin

The Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are both powered by SpaceX's Merlin engines*. A Falcon 9 has 9 engines on the 1st stage booster and 1 on the upper stage. The Falcon Heavy has 27 Merlin engines on the lower stage with 1 on the upper. The Raptor engine was also developed by SpaceX. Rocketdyne developed the F1 engine for the Saturn V rocket, and Aerojet Rocketdyne built the RS-25 for the Space Shuttle and Artemis Programs.

*Not to be confused with the Merlin engines that powered the Spitfire and various other aircraft in World War II.

9. What private company was responsible for constructing the inflatable BEAM module which was attached to the International Space Station in 2016?

Answer: Bigelow Aerospace

BEAM stands for Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. It was launched to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for CRS-8. It was then docked to the "Tranquility" module and inflated. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow and focused upon the development and construction of inflatable space habitats.

10. The growth in the commercial space sector in the 2000's and 2010's was not entirely led by new companies. Which historical aerospace giant developed the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft?

Answer: Boeing

Boeing designed the Starliner to hold a total of up to seven people. This was the first manned American space-capsule designed to return with both parachutes and propulsive landing on flat ground. Up until this point all American manned capsules had landed at sea. This craft can be launched by either the Atlas V, Delta IV, Falcon 9, or Vulcan rockets.

Source: Author Turgon3

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The involvement of commercial business with the space industry has existed since the advent of national space programs. However, this quiz focuses upon the unprecedented growth within the U.S. commercial space industry during the 2000's and 2010's.

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