Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
US aerospace manufacturer founded 2002; Falcon 9 has reflown boosters 630+ times; first private company to autonomously dock a crewed spacecraft to the ISS.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is a private American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider founded on March 14, 2002 by Elon Musk, initially in El Segundo, California. The company's official headquarters relocated to Starbase, Texas in August 2024; primary manufacturing and mission-control operations remain at its Hawthorne, California facility at 1 Rocket Road. SpaceX employs more than 13,000 people as of 2023 and reported revenue of US$18.7 billion in 2025. A May 2026 Nasdaq IPO filing (ticker SPCX) followed a 2025 secondary share transaction that valued the company at approximately $800 billion.
SpaceX's core hardware portfolio includes four active rocket and spacecraft systems. The Falcon 9 Block 5 is a medium-lift two-stage orbital rocket with nine Merlin 1D engines in its first stage, capable of delivering 22,800 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO). As of May 2026, Falcon 9 boosters have landed and reflown more than 630 times, achieving a weekly launch cadence of one to three missions. The Falcon Heavy uses three modified Falcon 9 cores with 27 Merlin 1D engines, providing LEO capacity of 63,800 kg and GTO capacity of 26,700 kg. Both vehicles hold NSSL (National Security Space Launch) and EELV certification for US military payloads. Starship is SpaceX's fully reusable super heavy-lift launch system, currently the largest and most powerful rocket ever flown, with a planned payload capacity exceeding 100 metric tons to LEO. The Dragon spacecraft (Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon variants) serves NASA and commercial customers for ISS crew transport (up to seven passengers) and cargo missions (up to 6,000 kg to ISS).
Automation and autonomous systems are central to SpaceX operations. The Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS) is an unmanned ocean platform that autonomously station-keeps at sea and catches returning Falcon 9 first stages; the first successful ASDS catch occurred in April 2016. In October 2024 (Starship Flight Test 5) and January 2025 (Flight Test 7), SpaceX demonstrated the first mechanical tower catch of a Super Heavy booster using the 'Mechazilla' robotic arm system at Starbase, eliminating the need for landing legs. Dragon first autonomously docked to the International Space Station on March 3, 2019, making SpaceX the first private company to achieve this with a human-rated spacecraft. The Starlink broadband constellation, with more than 6,000 satellites in LEO as of 2024, uses autonomous collision avoidance algorithms based on continuously uplinked tracking data. Starlink provides download speeds of 50–150 Mbit/s and latency of 20–40 ms; the Starlink Mini portable antenna introduced in 2024 retails at $599.
SpaceX acquired xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, in February 2026 and is developing space-based AI data centers as a follow-on business line.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Falcon 9
- Model: Block 5
- Launch Year: 2010
Reusable medium-lift orbital rocket with 630+ autonomous booster landings as of May 2026; certified for US military payloads.
Starship
- Launch Year: 2023
Largest rocket ever flown; fully reusable via mechanical tower catch ('Mechazilla'); first booster catch demonstrated October 2024.
Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS)
- Model: Of Course I Still Love You; A Shortfall of Gravitas
- Launch Year: 2015
Unmanned autonomous ocean platform that station-keeps at sea and catches returning Falcon 9 rocket boosters without crew.
Starlink
- Model: Standard; Mini
- Launch Year: 2018
LEO broadband constellation of 6,000+ satellites with autonomous collision avoidance; 50–150 Mbit/s, 20–40 ms latency.
Contact Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
WEBSITE
https://www.spacex.comPHONE
+1 310 363 6000HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2002
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Public
Funding Total
-
Certifications & Memberships
