Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer, launch service provider, and satellite communications company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, with headquarters at Starbase, near Brownsville, Texas. The company was established to reduce the cost of space transportation and to advance the long-term objective of enabling human settlement of Mars. It was originally incorporated as Space Exploration Technologies Corporation and became widely referred to by the abbreviated name SpaceX. The company operated from facilities in El Segundo and later Hawthorne, California, with Hawthorne serving as its headquarters until 2024, when SpaceX relocated its corporate headquarters to its Starbase site in Texas; the Hawthorne facility continues to support Falcon launch operations. Over its history, SpaceX has expanded through acquisitions, including satellite communications firm Swarm Technologies in 2021 and parachute supplier Pioneer Aerospace in 2023. In February 2026, SpaceX acquired the artificial intelligence company xAI in an all-stock transaction and announced a joint venture with Tesla to build a semiconductor fabrication facility. On June 12, 2026, SpaceX completed its initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SPCX.

Business/Product Breakdown

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. designs, manufactures, and operates rockets, spacecraft, and satellites, and provides launch services for commercial, government, and scientific customers. Its launch vehicle portfolio centers on the Falcon family, including the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, which are partially reusable rockets whose first-stage boosters are designed to return to Earth and land on ground-based pads or autonomous drone ships for refurbishment and reflight. These vehicles are powered by SpaceX-developed Merlin engines and carry payloads such as satellites, cargo, and crew to Earth orbit and beyond. The company also manufactures the Dragon spacecraft, including a crew-rated variant used to transport astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station under contracts with NASA. SpaceX is developing Starship, a fully reusable heavy-lift launch system consisting of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, powered by its Raptor engines and intended for transporting large payloads and crew to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars; a variant is being developed as a human landing system for NASA's Artemis lunar program. The company designs and produces much of its hardware in-house, including its rocket engines and vehicle structures.

Beyond launch services, SpaceX operates Starlink, a satellite broadband network built from a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites that delivers internet connectivity to residential, mobile, maritime, aviation, and enterprise users, offered through its subsidiary Starlink Services. Starlink hardware includes user terminals and antennas in multiple form factors for fixed and portable use. Building on the Starlink platform, SpaceX offers Starshield, a business line that adapts its satellite technology and launch capabilities for government and national security customers, supporting applications such as secure communications, Earth observation, and hosted payloads. The company has also outlined plans to develop space-based computing infrastructure using satellites derived from its existing platforms.