SpaceX

SpaceX was incorporated in March 2002, with Elon Musk as its founder. The company designs and manufactures rockets, engines and spacecraft in-house and develops reusable systems.⁠[3][4]

Falcon 1 first flew in March 2006 and first reached orbit in September 2008. In 2006 NASA awarded SpaceX a $278 million Commercial Orbital Transportation Services development agreement, and in December 2008 a contract worth $1.6 billion covering 12 cargo missions to the space station.⁠[3]

In 2009, Falcon 1 placed a commercial satellite into orbit for the first time. Falcon 9 first flew in June 2010; that December, Dragon became the first spacecraft launched into orbit and successfully recovered by a commercial company.⁠[3]

In May 2012 Dragon completed a resupply mission to the International Space Station and returned to Earth on May 31, making SpaceX the first private company to deliver cargo to the space station.⁠[5]

On December 21, 2015, after deploying 11 communications satellites, Falcon 9 returned its first stage to a landing on land, the first recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster. On April 8, 2016, the company first recovered a Falcon 9 first stage on an autonomous drone ship at sea. On March 30, 2017, a previously flown first stage flew another orbital launch mission and was recovered.⁠[4]

On September 1, 2016, an anomaly during a pre-launch ground test of AMOS-6 destroyed the rocket and the satellite. The company’s investigation attributed it to the failure of a composite overwrapped pressure vessel inside the second-stage liquid oxygen tank, and it changed helium loading and the vessel design accordingly.⁠[6]

Falcon Heavy first flew on February 6, 2018, from Kennedy Space Center; it consists of three Falcon 9 cores. The two side boosters returned successfully, the center core was not recovered, and the Tesla Roadster carried as a test payload was sent into an orbit around the Sun.⁠[7]

On May 23, 2019, SpaceX launched the first batch of 60 Starlink satellites.⁠[8]

In 2020 SpaceX said that light reflected by Starlink satellites affects astronomical observation and that it was testing darkening coatings, sunshades and attitude adjustments and working with the astronomy community; the company acknowledged that sensitive telescopes could still record satellite trails.⁠[6]

Demo-2 carried two NASA astronauts to space on May 30 and returned on August 2. On November 10, NASA completed crew certification of Crew Dragon, Falcon 9 and the ground support systems, allowing them to fly regular crew missions to the space station.⁠[9]

On April 16, 2021, NASA selected SpaceX’s Starship human landing system under an initial firm fixed-price contract totaling $2.89 billion, paid on completion of milestones, to develop crewed lunar landing capability. In November 2022 NASA added a $1.15 billion contract option supporting further sustainable lunar lander development and a second crewed demonstration mission.⁠[10][11]

National Labor Relations Board case 19-CA-309274, opened in December 2022, records allegations that SpaceX retaliated against, discharged or disciplined employees over concerted activity. As of October 2026, the official docket listed the case as closed and recorded the Supreme Court’s April 23, 2026, denial of a petition for certiorari.⁠[12]

On April 20, 2023, Starship and Super Heavy lifted off together for the first time, then lost control and broke apart. SpaceX’s mishap review found that propellant leaks caused fires that severed connections to the flight computer; follow-up improvements covered leak prevention, fire suppression, the flight termination system and the launch pad.⁠[6]

On January 15, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed a consent agreement and final order over alleged unpermitted wastewater discharges at SpaceX’s facility in Texas. The agreement imposed a civil penalty of $148,378; SpaceX admitted jurisdiction but neither admitted nor denied the factual allegations.⁠[13]

In January 2026 the FAA published the final environmental impact statement and record of decision for the Starship program at Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A, which analyzed up to 44 launches a year and the associated landings. Completion of the environmental review does not replace the other safety, risk and financial responsibility requirements of a launch license.⁠[14]

On February 2, xAI announced that it had been acquired by SpaceX. The deal brought the artificial intelligence business into the existing space and satellite communications group.⁠[2][1]

SpaceX’s Class A common stock began trading on June 12 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and Nasdaq Texas under the ticker SPCX; the initial public offering closed on June 15 with 638,888,888 shares issued, including 83,333,333 shares from the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option.⁠[1]

SpaceX completed its acquisition of the optical technology company Mesh Optical on July 6.⁠[15]

On August 4 the company reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $7.814 billion and a net loss of $541 million; first-half revenue was $12.508 billion with a net loss of $4.817 billion. Second-quarter revenue from the Space, Connectivity and AI segments was $962 million, $4.291 billion and $2.561 billion respectively; Starlink had 12 million subscribers at the end of June.⁠[16]

On August 14, Cursor announced that it had formally been acquired by SpaceX, completing an acquisition process that began in April. Cursor said it would use the group’s GPU computing resources to further develop coding models and AI collaboration tools.⁠[17]

On September 28, Starship Flight 14 reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX said it had established communication with all of the satellites and would proceed with checkouts and orbit raising.⁠[18]

The flight also had engine anomalies: one booster engine shut down early, as did one vacuum engine on the upper stage; the remaining engines burned longer and the ship reached orbit. The team therefore shortened the coast phase and deorbited early, and the ship splashed down in the North Pacific.⁠[18]

On September 29 the FAA announced that it would prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement for the Starship program at Cape Canaveral’s SLC-37, with scoping comments due by October 14. The proposal envisages up to 76 launches and 152 landings a year; commercial flights still require the corresponding FAA licenses.⁠[19]

On October 8, 2026, SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire 100% of the nationwide 800 MHz low-band spectrum portfolio held by the digital infrastructure investment firm Grain ManagementGrain ManagementGrain Management (Grain Management, LLC) is a private investment firm headquartered in Washington, D.C., founded by David Grain in 2007, that invests exclusively in digital infrastructure such as fiber networks, wireless spectrum, cell towers, data centers and telecommunications services. In 2026 it acquired a nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz low-band spectrum from T-Mobile and then agreed to sell that spectrum to SpaceX, a transaction still pending approval by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.Open the full entry. The licenses comprise up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum in the 817–824 MHz and 862–869 MHz bands; the transaction is subject to approval by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other customary closing conditions, and neither party disclosed the price. According to the application filed with the FCC, the purchase agreement was signed that day and the licenses will be transferred to Starlink Spectrum Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX. Grain had acquired the portfolio from T-MobileT-MobileT-Mobile (T-Mobile US, Inc.) is one of the major U.S. wireless carriers, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and Overland Park, Kansas, and controlled by Deutsche Telekom. Its predecessor was VoiceStream Wireless, founded in 1994; it listed on Nasdaq after combining with MetroPCS in 2013 and merged with Sprint in 2020.Open the full entry in August 2026 in exchange for cash and its 600 MHz spectrum.⁠[20][20][21][22][23][24][24][20]

SpaceX said the low-band spectrum closes one of the key remaining technical gaps for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the United States: its global 2 GHz mid-band spectrum provides high capacity in the U.S., while the new low-band spectrum serves as a coverage layer that lets the signal penetrate obstacles such as walls and reach customers’ devices inside buildings; most existing phones already support the band. SpaceX said that once it receives final FCC approval, Starlink Mobile will combine its satellite-to-mobile constellation in space with a terrestrial network deployment. Elon Musk said it was the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America.⁠[21][21][21][21][25]

The same week, the FCC approved Starlink Mobile’s Gen2 constellation application, authorizing SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites optimized for 2 GHz spectrum globally; SpaceX said the new satellites would deliver more than 100 times the bandwidth of the current generation and serve unmodified devices directly. After the acquisition was announced, shares of AT&TAT&TAT&T (AT&T Inc.) is a telecommunications company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Its predecessor was SBC Communications, a regional holding company created in the 1984 breakup of the Bell System; SBC merged with the original AT&T Corp. in 2005 and adopted its name, and it has since operated a nationwide wireless network and fiber broadband, at one time also owning DIRECTV and WarnerMedia.Open the full entry, Verizon and T-Mobile US fell about 6% in extended trading.⁠[21][21][26]

The Falcon family launches satellites and Dragon carries crew and cargo; Starship is designed for full reusability to support missions to the Moon and Mars.⁠[4][9]

Starshield uses Starlink technology and launch capability to serve government and national security customers, focusing on Earth observation, communications and hosted customer payloads. It uses modular satellite buses and can link with partner satellites through inter-satellite laser terminals.⁠[27]

SpaceX is headquartered at Starbase, Texas. Elon Musk is founder and chief executive officer; Gwynne Shotwell has been president and chief operating officer since 2008 and a director since March 2009; Bret Johnsen is chief financial officer.⁠[28][29]

The board members listed by the company are Musk, Shotwell, Ira Ehrenpreis, Randy Glein, Antonio J. Gracias, Donald Harrison, Steve Jurvetson, Luke Nosek and Roelof Botha. Glein chairs the audit committee and Ehrenpreis chairs the compensation and nominating and governance committee.⁠[29]

SpaceX: Official website: https://www.spacex.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]

SpaceX: Investor relations website: https://ir.spacex.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[29]

X: Public account: https://x.com/SpaceX (opens in a new window)⁠[30]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SpaceX (opens in a new window)⁠[31]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spacex/ (opens in a new window)⁠[32]