SpaceX

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) is an American aerospace manufacturer founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of making humanity multi-planetary. It became the first private company to successfully launch a cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (2012) and the first to land and reuse orbital-class rocket boosters, transforming the economics of spaceflight. By 2026, SpaceX operates the world's most active launch manifest, flies the Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA and commercial astronauts, and is developing Starship, the largest rocket ever flown.

SpaceX holds NASA's Artemis III and IV Human Landing System contract, worth up to $4.5 billion, to deliver a Starship-derived lunar lander. It also launched the Artemis II crew on the SLS rocket from Kennedy Space Center. Separately, its Falcon Heavy launch vehicle lofted NOAA's GOES-19 weather satellite in 2024. In February 2026 SpaceX acquired xAI, the artificial intelligence company, in an all-stock deal. The company remains privately held and is not listed on any stock exchange, though an IPO was reported to be under consideration.

SpaceX's influence on the Artemis programme is extensive but contested. NASA's OIG found Starship HLS running two years behind schedule, and a manual control dispute between SpaceX and NASA added further risk. The company's Starship vehicle simultaneously faces commercial, military, and NASA programme demands, raising questions about prioritisation and resources at a moment when Artemis's critical path runs directly through SpaceX's Boca Chica launch facility.