SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies Corp., founded in 2002, is an American space technology company and a dominant launch provider. It designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, including the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon spacecraft, and Starship. SpaceX partners with organizations like NASA and the United States Armed Forces and is known for its advancements in reusable launch vehicles, human spaceflight, and satellite constellation technology like Starlink. Key words: launch provider, reusable rockets, space exploration, Starlink, Falcon, Dragon, Starship, NASA.
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SpaceX completed 165 Falcon launches in 2023.
The launch will be conducted by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) and SpaceX.
SpaceX conducted five Starship flight tests in 2023.
SpaceX met their updated goal of 165 Falcon flights in 2023.
SpaceX ended the year with a surplus of second stages at the McGregor test site.
Space Forge launched ForgeStar-1 on June 27 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare mission.
SpaceX conducted four crewed missions in 2025.
SpaceX’s Twilight rideshare mission in January 2026 will carry 22 satellites to be deployed to a specialized sun-synchronous orbit by Exolaunch.
In May 2025 Exolaunch secured new multi-year contracts to continue launching on SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare missions through 2028 and beyond.
The SHIELD IDIQ framework creates a technical contrast to traditional large-scale hardware awards, such as the reported $2 billion SpaceX allocation for the Golden Dome architecture.
EchoStar’s Boost Mobile brand will operate as a hybrid mobile network utilizing AT&T’s terrestrial infrastructure and SpaceX’s Starlink Direct to Cell service.
The Starshield contract was established in 2021 and expanded in 2024.
EchoStar finalized a $17 billion agreement with SpaceX for AWS-4 and H-Block licenses.
SpaceX has begun production of MILNET satellite units, adapting the Starshield bus to host specific USSF communications payloads.
The IRIS² program aims to bridge digital divide gaps for commercial sectors and serve as a sovereign alternative to commercial constellations like SpaceX’s Starshield.
The U.S. Space Force confirmed the deployment of a military satellite communications architecture called 'MILNET' in partnership with SpaceX on December 27, 2025.
EchoStar Corporation has undergone a significant capital restructuring involving multibillion-dollar asset sales to AT&T and SpaceX.
The arrangement with the NRO allows the Space Force to leverage the Starshield contract framework for rapid procurement of satellites and launch services.
SpaceX filed to expand its Starlink constellation with 15,000 additional satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) to provide ubiquitous D2C connectivity.
The arrival of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in the early 2010s changed the U.S. launch sector by introducing a reusable first stage that reduced launch costs.