SpaceX

"You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great - and that's what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It's about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can't think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars."-Elon Musk

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. The company was established with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary and revolutionizing space technology

Key achievements and activities

• Reusable rockets: SpaceX is a world leader in reusable rocket technology, which has significantly lowered the cost of spaceflight.
• Cargo and crew transport: The company's Dragon spacecraft is the only private vehicle to have transported both cargo and astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
• Starlink: SpaceX operates Starlink, a large constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit that provides high-speed, broadband internet access to users around the globe.
• Starship: The company is developing Starship, a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
• Historic milestones: SpaceX was the first private company to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit and has since achieved numerous other historic firsts in commercial spaceflight.

Products and programs

Falcon 9

• : A reusable, two-stage rocket used for transporting satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.

Falcon Heavy

• : The world's most powerful operational rocket, consisting of three Falcon 9 boosters.
• Dragon: The company's crew and cargo spacecraft, used for resupply and crew transportation missions to the ISS and other destinations.
• Starship: An ambitious program to create a fully reusable system for interplanetary travel.
• Starlink: A satellite constellation providing internet access.
• Starshield: A product for government customers, using the Starlink architecture for secure satellite connectivity.

Locations

While its former headquarters was in

Hawthorne, California

, SpaceX relocated its headquarters to

Starbase, Texas

, in August 2024. However, it still maintains significant operations across several key locations:

Starbase, Texas

• : Headquarter and primary site for Starship development, manufacturing, testing, and launch.

Hawthorne, California

• : Major facility for manufacturing Falcon rockets and Dragon spacecraft, as well as mission control.

McGregor, Texas

• : Rocket development and testing facility.

Redmond, Washington

• : Starlink satellite manufacturing facilities.
• Launch sites: Includes facilities in Florida (Cape Canaveral Space Force Station), California (Vandenberg Space Force Base), and Texas (Starbase).

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