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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NASA awarded the IMAP launch to SpaceX in 2020.
SpaceX's original launch goal for 2024 was 144 launches, and the company added four launches it did not perform in 2023 to reach a 2023 goal of 100.
SpaceX announced the Bandwagon line of rideshare missions in 2023 to complement its Transporter series of dedicated rideshare missions to sun-synchronous orbits.
SpaceX expected to reach approximately 136 launches in 2024.
SpaceX launched 30 satellites on 2024-12-21 on the second Bandwagon dedicated rideshare mission to mid-inclination orbits.
SpaceX planned two Bandwagon missions in 2024 and two Bandwagon missions in 2025 without committing to additional missions beyond 2025.
SpaceX plans to increase its launch goals for 2025 to about 175 to 180 launches.
Cluster 11 launched on 2024-12-20 via launch integrator Exolaunch as part of the Bandwagon-2 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
The 2024-12-17 license modification allows SpaceX to perform multiple flights on the same profile as Flight 7.
Vast completed the agreement with SpaceX on 2024-12-19 to fly two Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS on private astronaut missions.
The SpaceX Starlink broadband-by-satellite system has hit 5 million subscribers.
The mission dubbed Gravitas is scheduled to launch in February 2026 aboard a SpaceX rideshare mission to low Earth orbit.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched Astra 1P on 2024-06-20 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
SpaceX's valuation is now estimated at around $350 billion.
SpaceX has regulatory permission to deploy up to 7,500 Starlink satellites with direct-to-smartphone payloads.
One NZ currently delivers text messages within about three minutes but delivery can take up to 10 minutes as SpaceX densifies its direct-to-smartphone constellation.
SpaceX launched the first four O3b mPower spacecraft in August 2023.
SpaceX has launched more than 300 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit with payloads that can use a partner telco’s cellular spectrum to connect standard smartphones.
SpaceX began launching the Starlink constellation in 2019 with a focus on retail broadband services.
SpaceX has launched early direct-to-smartphone messaging services in New Zealand via Starlink.