Organization · USA · est. 2002
SpaceX
A private American company founded by Elon Musk. It was the first private company whose launch vehicle reached orbit (2008) and whose spacecraft docked with the ISS (2012) and carried a crew (2020).
CountryUSA
Founded2002
KEY EVENTSON TIMELINE →
Mar 2002
Founding of SpaceXElon Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp. with the goal of reducing the cost of transport to space and enabling the colonization of Mars.
Sept 2008
Falcon 1After three previous failures, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed liquid-propellant launch vehicle in history to reach Earth orbit.
May 2012
Dragon to the ISSThe Dragon cargo ship (COTS 2+/Dragon C2+ mission) became the first privately developed spacecraft in history to dock with the International Space Station.
Feb 2018
Falcon HeavyFalcon Heavy, then the most powerful operational launch vehicle in the world, lifted off successfully, and for the first time in history two side boosters landed back on Earth simultaneously.
Mar 2019
Crew Dragon Demo-1
May 2020
Crew Dragon Demo-2The Crew Dragon spacecraft carried astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the ISS — the first crewed orbital flight launched by a private company in history.
May 2026
Starship Flight 12First flight of the Starship V3 architecture; the ship completed its flight and landed successfully, while the Super Heavy booster was lost after a failed boostback burn.