Why Falcon Succeeded Where The Shuttle Failed

Two attempts to revolutionise space with cheap, reusable, launch had very different outcomes.

The Falcon 9 rocket has revolutionised space flight in both in terms of cost and flight rate. But it wasn’t the first attempt to do this. The Space Shuttle, as originally conceived, was hoped to achieve as high a launch rate and comparable cost savings as the Falcon, but it did not succeed.

In both their technical aspects and management, these two progr…