Elon Musk’s SpaceX: What to know ahead of astronaut launch

Elon Musk’s SpaceX will launch astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday. 

The window for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida opens at 12:09 p.m ET. 

“The flight is the 11th crew rotation mission with SpaceX to station, and the 12th human spaceflight under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program,” NASA said in a blog post.

“The Crew-11 cadre will fly aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft that previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Demo Mission-2, Crew-2, Crew-6, and Crew-8, in addition to Axiom Mission 1, the first private astronaut mission to the microgravity laboratory.”

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Before NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov liftoff from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, here are five things to know about SpaceX.

1. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk

When Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, its headquarters were in Hawthorne, California. Since then, the HQ for the aerospace and defense company has moved to Starbase in southern Texas. The company has 13,000 employees, and its revenue for 2024 was $8.7 billion, according to Forbes.

It is currently the largest private company valued at around $400 billion, per reports. 

Musk’s believes the company can eventually make it to planet Mars. 

He also has a rivalry with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns space company Blue Origin. 

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2. Inside SpaceX

SpaceX prides itself on the work it has done in 23 years. The “space aviation company that designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft,” Global Data’s website says. Missions are launched from launch sites at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

As of Wednesday afternoon, SpaceX’s website says it has completed 521 missions, 482 landings and 448 reflights. 

“While most rockets are designed to burn up on reentry, SpaceX rockets can not only withstand reentry but can also successfully land back on Earth and refly again,” it said. 

3. Starlink 

Along with astronauts, SpaceX launches satellites into space, allowing communities and travelers worldwide to stay connected. The division of SpaceX “is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more,” its website says. 

The technology has been picked up by travel businesses, such as United Airlines and Carnival Corporation, to provide reliable Wi-Fi to customers in the air and at sea. 

Following natural disasters, like Hurricane Milton in October 2024, Starlink kits have been activated to provide cell satellite service in partnership with phone carriers. Musk has also deployed the satellites over Ukraine amid its war with Russia. 

4. With success comes failure

Not all of SpaceX’s missions have been successful. 

Last month, SpaceX’s Starship exploded, sending a massive fireball into the sky from Texas that was caught on several livestreams.  

Falcon 9, the “reusable, two-stage rocket” that is being used for Thursday’s planned launch, suffered a “liquid oxygen leak” in July 2024, causing the Merlin Vacuum engine to experience an “anomaly,” resulting in a loss of satellites.

5. Trump, government subsidies and contracts

President Donald Trump attended a SpaceX launch last May. This was as he and Musk spent a significant amount of time at the White House while he was head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) before a terse exit.

Following a public fallout between Musk and Trump, a spotlight was shone on how much government funding Musk’s companies had received over the years. 

SpaceX, a crucial contractor for NASA and the Space Force, has received at least $1 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits each year since 2016, and between $2 billion and $4 billion a year from 2021 to 2024, as previously reported.

FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.