SpaceX faces a growing list of competitors in the new space race - here's what their futuristic rockets will do

Once the butt-end of rocket industry jokes, SpaceX has completely disrupted the world's market for launches with high-performance, increasingly low-cost, and ever-more-reusable rockets.

Founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002, SpaceX did not have an easy start - it was bordering on bankruptcy in 2008 after three failed launches.

Today the aerospace company has about $10 billion worth of launches booked, built the world's most powerful operational rocket, and touts an ambitious goal to colonize Mars.

Its success has so far relied on its workhorse launcher: the 229-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket. But continued industry dominance is anything but guaranteed.

In the near future, Musk and SpaceX will face competition from a number of companies, including Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, that are developing reusable, next-generation rocket engines and boosters.

Here's how the competition in the new space race stacks up.

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