SpaceX

Hawthorne, Calif.-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is a commercial company aiming to launch cargo, and eventually people, to low-Earth orbit. The firm is developing its Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 booster under contracts from NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program and its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.

Related Topics: Falcon Heavy, NASA, NASA Space Launch System, Orion Spacecraft

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX launches 53 Starlink satellites on milestone 200th Falcon 9 rocket flight

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX launched 53 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit early Thursday morning (Feb. 2).

Former NASA astronauts Bob Behnken (left) and Doug Hurley are seen after being awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by Vice President Kamala Harris during a ceremony in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in Washington, DC.

SpaceX crewmates Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken awarded Space Medal of Honor

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

Former NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken have been presented with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. honor reserved for spaceflight veterans.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley (foreground) and Bob Behnken brief mission controllers about their experience aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, on June 1, 2020, shortly after arriving at the International Space Station aboard the private vehicle on SpaceX's Demo-2 test flight.

Watch 2 pioneering former NASA astronauts receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor today

By Mike Wall published

Two trailblazing former NASA astronauts will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on Tuesday (Jan. 31), and you can watch the ceremony live.

polaris dawn crew members in black jumpsuits pose in front of spacex starship hardware

Polaris Dawn: The trailblazing commercial mission of the Polaris Program

By Elizabeth Howell published

Reference Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions of the Polaris Program. The mission will fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and be commanded by Jared Isaacman.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 49 Starlink internet satellites and D-Orbit's orbital transfer vehicle from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Jan. 31, 2023.

SpaceX launches 50 satellites, lands rocket on ship at sea

By Mike Wall last updated

On Tuesday (Jan. 31), a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 49 of the company's Starlink broadband satellites and a rideshare spacecraft, then landed on a ship at sea.

SpaceX destacks its giant Starship Mars rocket at its South Texas facility on Jan. 25, 2023, to continue gearing up for the vehicle's first-ever orbital test flight.

SpaceX destacks Starship to prep for epic 33-engine test fire (photos)

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX destacked its Starship Mars rocket on Wednesday (Jan. 25) to continue gearing up for the giant vehicle's first-ever orbital test flight.

noctilucent clouds over a black horizon

SpaceX Starlink launch spawns gorgeous dawn clouds in Florida sky

By Elizabeth Howell published

Noctilucent clouds hovered over parts of Florida's Space Coast after SpaceX rocketed 56 Starlink satellites to orbit early Thursday morning (Jan. 26).

A Starlink satellite streaks across this image of the Andromeda galaxy from Caltech's Zwicky Transient Facility, highlighting the challenge Starlink satellites in particular present to ground-based astronomical observations.

SpaceX and astronomers come to agreement on reducing Starlink astronomy impact

By John Loeffler published

The National Science Foundation and SpaceX have come to an agreement on how to mitigate the damage to ground-based astronomy that Starlink satellites present.

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 56 Starlink spacecraft launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday at 4:32 a.m. EST (0932 GMT).

SpaceX launches heaviest payload on reused rocket's 9th flight

By Mike Wall, Tereza Pultarova published

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted its heaviest payload yet to low Earth orbit when it launched 56 Starlink satellites on Thursday morning (Jan. 26).

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft docked at the International Space Station with black space behind.

SpaceX Crew Dragon may get a shield upgrade after Soyuz spacecraft leak

By Elizabeth Howell published

A micrometeoroid strike on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in December 2022 has spurred NASA to talk to SpaceX about possibly increasing the shielding on its Crew Dragon capsule.

SpaceX Starship covered in frost during a fueling test.

SpaceX's 1st orbital Starship looks supercool in these fueling test photos

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX fueled up a fully stacked Starship vehicle for the first time ever on Monday (Jan. 23), and dramatic photos preserve the process for posterity.

SpaceX conducted a wet dress rehearsal with its fully stacked Starship vehicle on Jan. 23, 2023 at its Starbase facility in South Texas.

SpaceX fuels up fully stacked Starship vehicle for 1st time ever (video)

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX fueled up a fully stacked Starship for the first time ever on Monday (Jan. 23), notching a huge milestone on the path toward the vehicle's debut orbital flight.

The Russian-built Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is seen in the foreground docked to the Rassvet module of the International Space Station in this image taken in October. 2022. Russia's Nauka laboratory module of the station is seen in the background, with its European Robotic Arm folded up.

NASA astronaut and 2 cosmonauts may stay on space station for a full year after Soyuz leak

By Mike Wall published

Frank Rubio and two cosmonaut colleagues may not come home from the International Space Station until late September — six months later than initially planned.

A SpaceX Dragon Endurance capsule in the black of space with a blue Earth below after launch on Oct. 5, 2022.

SpaceX astronaut missions for NASA: Crew-5 updates

By Elizabeth Howell published

Read the latest news about SpaceX's Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station for NASA.

An eerie blue spiral seen over Hawaii following a SpaceX launch on Wednesday (Jan. 18).

Eerie blue spiral in night sky over Hawaii spawned by SpaceX rocket

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Subaru Telescope spotted a spiral shape in the sky shortly after SpaceX sent a GPS satellite to space on Wednesday (Jan. 18).

The four crewmembers of SpaceX's Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station pose for a photo in their spacesuits during a training session at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are, Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Commander Stephen Bowen, and Mission Specialist Sultan Al Neyadi.mission pose for a photo in their spacesuits during a training session at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left: mission specialist Andrey Fedyaev, pilot Warren "Woody" Hoburg, commander Stephen Bowen, and mission specialist Sultan Al Neyadi.

SpaceX and NASA targeting Feb. 26 for Crew-6 astronaut launch

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX's sixth contracted astronaut flight to the International Space Station for NASA will launch on Feb. 26, if all goes according to plan.

A high-definition camera on the International Space Station's exterior captured this photo of the plume created by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket as it launched the USSF-67 mission for the U.S. Space Force on Jan. 15, 2023.

SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch spotted from space station (photo)

By Mike Wall published

A high-definition exterior camera on the International Space Station snapped a shot of the plume created by SpaceX's Falcon Heavy during its Jan. 15 launch.

Backdropped by the rising sun, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches a GPS III satellite on behalf of the United States Space Force on Jan. 18, 2023.

SpaceX GPS launch delivers stunning sunrise views (photos)

By Elizabeth Howell published

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket made an early-morning space run Wednesday (Jan. 18), and the launch photos look like stills from a beachside Hollywood film.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the GPS III Space Vehicle 06, an advanced Global Positioning System satellite, to space on Wednesday at 7:24 a.m. EST (1224 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

SpaceX launches advanced GPS satellite for US Space Force, nails the landing

By Elizabeth Howell published

SpaceX launched a GPS satellite for the U.S. Space Force today (Jan. 18) at 7:24 a.m. EST (1224 GMT), the company's fourth launch of 2023.

The Crew-5 SpaceX Dragon Endurance approaches the International Space Station for docking on Oct. 6, 2022.

SpaceX Dragon capsule to be 5-person 'lifeboat' in event of ISS emergency

By Mike Wall published

On Wednesday (Jan. 18), NASA plans to start moving astronaut Frank Rubio's seat liner from a Russian Soyuz spacecraft over to SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule Endurance.