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.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
SpaceX's Starship emerged as the leading solution for the large Venus mission due to its payload capacity and cost.
SpaceX will perform a test flight of its Starship/Super Heavy vehicle from its Starbase test site in Boca Chica, Texas.
The upcoming SpaceX test flight will be the first since the vehicle's destruction in January.
The authors mention concerns about monopoly power, particularly regarding SpaceX in the launch sector.
A successful test flight would bring SpaceX closer to reaching orbit with Starship.
The Moon lander duo from ispace Japan and Firefly Aerospace were launched by SpaceX on January 15 as a shared Falcon 9 ride to space.
SpaceX is driving the surge in US launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Kennedy Space Center, and Vandenberg Space Force Base.
EAC2 and EAC3 for HWO require SpaceX's Starship and its nine-meter payload bay.
SpaceX proposed the Starship as their entry in the Human Landing System competition for Artemis missions.
SpaceX has designed Starship's heat shield to withstand the higher temperatures generated by returning from the Moon.
SpaceX has a plan for returning humans to the lunar surface using only the Starship, originally revealed by Elon Musk in 2017.
NASA is developing two space transportation systems for human exploration of the Moon and Mars: the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft, and SpaceX's Starship.
To transition to Starship-only Artemis missions, SpaceX needs to add fins and a heat shield back onto the Starship.
SpaceX won the HLS competition in April 2021 and was awarded a contract for $2.89 billion to develop the HLS version of the Starship.
The Artemis 4 mission is scheduled for September 2028, but is expected to occur in at least 2029, allowing time for SpaceX to develop necessary return capabilities.
SpaceX’s seventh Starship Super Heavy flight on January 16, 2026 achieved a second successful booster catch while the Starship upper stage exploded during the mission.
SpaceX's Super Heavy booster returned to the launch pad after separating from the Starship upper stage.
The FAA and SpaceX need to conduct and close a flight anomaly investigation before the next Starship Super Heavy can launch.
The FAA closed airspace due to debris from SpaceX's Starship test flight.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk indicated an oxygen/fuel leak caused the loss of the Starship.