SpaceX's reusable rockets turned an idea NASA veterans once mocked into the standard for the industry, a win for anyone betting on cheaper space access.

• Reusing rockets instead of throwing them away cut the cost of reaching orbit dramatically.
• Thirty years ago the notion that an outsider from South Africa would recycle NASA's rockets was treated as a joke.
• Even Elon Musk's own heroes, including Buzz Aldrin, dismissed the plan early on.
• The turnaround is now held up as proof the future still has room for big technological leaps.

Outlook: Cheap, reusable launches keep pushing costs down and pull more companies and countries into the space race.