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.
On Thursday, 2024-06-13 between 8 AM and 12 PM PDT, SpaceX is scheduled to launch additional Starlink smallsats from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
The plan is to acquire a constellation of Starshield satellites by 2029 contingent on receiving necessary funding appropriations from Congress.
A proliferated LEO architecture of many relatively small satellites, such as Starshield, offers greater resiliency compared with a few large geostationary satellites.
The Space Force’s Commercial Satellite Communications Office and the Defense Information Systems Agency established a $900 million, 10-year IDIQ agreement for proliferated LEO satellite services with 20 vendors including SpaceX.
SpaceX is supplying Starshield satellites with imaging payloads to the National Reconnaissance Office for a proliferated LEO constellation of surveillance satellites.
The report discusses the imminent introduction of the Starship super heavy launcher by SpaceX.
NASA completed a study with SpaceX to explore using a Crew Dragon spacecraft for a potential Hubble servicing mission.
SpaceX’s next rocket is expected to have launch costs per kilogram to low Earth orbit that are approximately 10% of those of the current Falcon 9.
SpaceX is due to launch Thuraya 4 2024 to enable services to begin in the second half of 2025.
NASA will not pursue the SpaceX/Polaris servicing proposal for Hubble at this time.
The fourth test flight of Starship launched from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas on Thursday morning, 2024-06-06.
SpaceX reported that Starlink achieved breakeven cash flow in 2023-01-01 and that SpaceX turned a profit in 2023.
Contracts associated with SpaceX’s government satellite work may yield $500,000,000 and upwards in 2023 and 2024.
SpaceX received a $2,900,000,000 NASA HLS contract and a second $1,150,000,000 HLS contract for the Human Landing System.
SpaceX’s launch business is generally estimated to yield about $3,500,000,000 in revenues in 2024, inclusive of Dragon cargo and crew missions, with about 20 to 25 launches per year.
SpaceX’s Starlink broadband service operates a constellation of approximately 6,000 satellites.
Starlink service and terminal sales are estimated to generate about $4,500,000,000 in revenue for SpaceX in 2024, with roughly 80% of that amount from service revenue and the remainder from terminal sales.
SpaceX jettisoned the hot staging interstage section on the 2024-06-06 flight as a new, temporary measure to reduce booster mass for landing.
SaveRGV notified SpaceX on 2024-06-04 that it intended to file suit alleging ongoing Clean Water Act violations related to SpaceX’s Starbase ground systems.
The FAA’s updated license for Starship made no major changes to how SpaceX would conduct the 2024-06-06 launch but was required for the mission to proceed.