(Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, Starbase, Texas) A private aerospace company founded in California in 2002 by Elon Musk that is also an AI company. Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California were the first launch sites. In 2014, construction began for a site near Brownsville, Texas, which later became the location of the company headquarters.
SpaceX Is Actually Four Companies
SpaceX is a rocket ship company, a satellite Internet company, an AI company, and a social media company. The Starlink satellite service was created as a division of SpaceX. X Corp. (Twitter/X) was purchased by xAI, Musk's AI company, and xAI became part of SpaceX in 2026. See
xAI,
Starlink and
Twitter/X. The Boring Company was part of SpaceX but was spun off in 2018 (see
LVCC Loop).
Major Firsts for a Private Rocket Ship Company
Starting in 2008, SpaceX is known for its many firsts as a private company not beholden to public shareholders. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket family has flown more than a hundred times, and in 2010, SpaceX was the first private company to launch an orbital-class spacecraft and recover it. In 2017, it reused a commercial spacecraft designed for cargo, and in 2020 was first to send humans into orbit.
In late 2024, SpaceX caught the 232-foot booster from its heavy Starship rocket with mechanical arms back at its launch pad. Normally, boosters splash into the ocean miles away. This was a first for a private spaceship company. However, regarding rocket reuse, the Space Shuttle Columbia launched in 1981 was the first reusable rocket and spacecraft. See
Optimus and
Terafab.
Mars Ahoy!
One of the long-term goals of Musk is to colonize Mars, which he believes is essential to perpetuate humanity in the future. He believes sending massive numbers of his robots can prepare the planet for human occupancy. A more immediate goal is to colonize the Moon and make the Moon the springboard to Mars. Stay tuned!