CNNBusiness recently took to analyzing the niche cottage industry that has sprung up around space exploration and transportation company SpaceX, which focuses on documenting progress on the company’s prototypes and plans, as well as streaming launches and developments.
The industry has grown almost as exponentially as SpaceX itself, peddling content captured directly from SpaceX’s launch facilities like the South Texas Launch Site, progress on the assembly of new prototypes, live streams of launches, analyses, and infotainment videos.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that the company doesn’t spend much on advertising, and it’s gotten to a point where it doesn’t actually have to — enthusiasts like NASASpaceflight, Everyday Astronaut, and LabPadre promote SpaceX and its endeavors with their content, which garners millions of views online.
Many contributors within the industry are now making a respectable living from their efforts and from supporters within the enthusiast community, and just as much is being invested into the equipment that makes it all possible for them.
Tim Dodd, who runs the YouTube enthusiast channel Everyday Astronaut, has invested over $200,000 into cameras and equipment used in live streaming test launches and other content straight from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility.
This burgeoning industry offers significant value to fans of Musk and SpaceX, and those who simply want to follow the company’s endeavors. SpaceX is rather tight-lipped about its operations, whereas enthusiast channels live stream happenings at launch facilities for hours on end.
The SN11 test flight which ended in a fiery disaster was captured by enthusiast cameras all around the launch site, and publications like NASASpaceflight are hard at work covering the assembly of the next generation of SpaceX’s Starship, the SN15.
Elon Musk also happens to be a proponent of enthusiasts and their coverage of SpaceX’s operations, even going as far as to help LabPadre‘s Louis Balderas out of a pinch pertaining to one of his cameras near the South Texas Launch Site.
“[Musk] said it’s easier for him to get an update on what’s going on rather than to pick up the phone”, told Balderas.
It’s pretty awesome being able to follow SpaceX at Boca Chica thanks to these hard-working folks and their streaming rigs. Traditional media is missing out and these savvy, passionate space entrepreneurs are now filling the void.
