SpaceX

Founded by Elon Musk, SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) is engaged in the design, manufacture, and launch of rockets and spacecrafts. The startup manufactured Falcon 9, which is the first orbital class reusable rocket that helped the company bring down costs per launch due to the ability to refly. SpaceX claims to be the world’s leading provider of launch services and the first private company to transport cargo and astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) with its Dragon spacecraft. It is also the first and only company to complete an all-civilian crewed mission to orbit.

With Elon Musk’s plans to colonize the moon and Mars with reusable spaceships to make life multiplanetary, the startup offers commercial flights to Earth and lunar orbit and launched its first all-commercial crew to space station in April 2022. The company also offers a rideshare program, with programs starting at USD 1.1 million for 200kg to SSO (Sun Synchronous Orbit).

SpaceX is also developing the Starship launch vehicle which is dubbed as the most powerful launch vehicle on earth. Starship is the integration of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy Rocket. Standing at 120 meters tall and with a fully reusable payload capacity of 100–150 tons, Starship is a fully reusable crew and cargo transportation system meant for travel beyond earth’s orbit. In April 2023, Starship conducted its maiden launch during which the launch vehicle exploded due to a stage separation failure. The second test flight in November 2023 , despite ending in a mid-air explosion, showcased notable advancements compared to the initial flight.

In November 2023 , SpaceX acquired Pioneer Aerospace, a provider of high-speed drogue parachutes, for USD 2.2 million as part of Pioneer's bankruptcy proceedings. SpaceX aims to vertically integrate the production of drogue parachutes, allowing the company to ensure quality control of this crucial component.

On 6th June 2024, SpaceX launched its Starship rocket and successfully brought down the booster and the upper stage back to Earth in controlled ocean splashdowns, marking a key milestone for the rocket’s operations. Further in June, the company also launched 20 Starlink satellites from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, followed by launching the SES satellite aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to replace the older satellites stationed over Europe.

In July 2024, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 for a second time with 20 Starlink satellites, however, it experienced upper-stage failure and all of the satellites were returned to Earth and lost. An investigation with the FAA revealed that this was due to a crack in a sense line for a pressure sensor of the oxygen system. During the same month, SpaceX launched two Starlink missions to deliver 44 new Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. In September 2024, SpaceX announced its plans to launch Starship on uncrewed Mars missions starting in 2026 and crewed missions in 2028. 

In October 2024, SpaceX launched NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft aboard the Falcon Heavy rocket. The mission aimed to explore Europa, Jupiter's moon, and determine if it could harbor life.

Key customers and partnerships

SpaceX has secured many partnerships, with the most high profile being with NASA (in September 2022 , NASA awarded SpaceX additional crew flights to ISS) as well as other government institutions such as the US Airforce. For example, in January 2022, it won a USD 102 million Air Force contract to demonstrate technologies for point-to-point space transportation. The company was also given a USD 2.9 billion contract in April 2021 by NASA to put its astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972. Adding a modification–known as option B–to this contract, SpaceX was hired to provide a second crewed demonstration landing in November 2022.

The ESA hired SpaceX in October 2022 to launch two missions aboard Falcon 9 rocket–Euclid space telescope and Hera Probe–which was previously planned to be flown on Russian Soyuz rockets.

In April 2024, the company partnered with Northrop Grumman for a classified reconnaissance satellite project to support the US government's military and intelligence target tracking from low-Earth orbits. In June 2024 SpaceX was awarded a USD 1.5 million contract by NASA for a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, along with 6 other companies. The same month, alongside Blue Origin and ULA, SpaceX was selected by the USSF for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 launch services contract. SpaceX, once again partnered with NASA in June 2024, to create and deliver the US Deorbit Vehicle which would bring the International Space Station (ISS) out of orbit in later in 2030.

In July 2024, the company was awarded a ~USD 113 million contract from NASA to provide launch services for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) 4 mission. SpaceX received a USD 733.6 million contract from the USSF in October 2024 to provide seven launches for the Space Development Agency (SDA), to build out Tranche 2 of the Transport Layer constellation.