# Topics > Entities > Companies >  Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, space transport company, Hawthorne, California, USA

## Airicist

Website - spacex.com

youtube.com/spacex

vimeo.com/spacexlaunch

facebook.com/spacenewsx

twitter.com/SpaceX

linkedin.com/company/spacex

instagram.com/spacex

SpaceX on Wikipedia

CEO and CTO - Elon Musk 

Projects:

Polaris Program, human spaceflight space tourism mission

SpaceX Starship offshore platform

dearMoon project, lunar tourism mission

Psyche, asteroid orbiter

Starlink, satellite constellation

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), space telescope

Hyperloop pod competition

SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure

Starship, reusable spacecraft and second stage of the SpaceX BFR

Dragon 2, spacecraft, the next generation spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to Earth orbit and beyond

Dragon, partially reusable spacecraft

Falcon Heavy, reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle

Falcon 9 Block 5, launch vehicle

Falcon 9 Full Thrust, Falcon 9 v1.2, launch vehicle

Falcon 9 v1.1, launch vehicle

Falcon 9 v1.0, launch vehicle

Grasshopper (rocket) on Wikipedia

ITS launch vehicle on Wikipedia

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## Airicist

Grasshopper 325m Test

Published on Jul 5, 2013




> On June 14, SpaceX's Grasshopper flew 325 m (1066 feet)--higher than Manhattan's Chrysler Building--before smoothly landing back on the pad. For the first time in this test, Grasshopper made use of its full navigation sensor suite with the F9-R closed loop control flight algorithms to accomplish a precision landing. Most rockets are equipped with sensors to determine position, but these sensors are generally not accurate enough to accomplish the type of precision landing necessary with Grasshopper. 
> 
> Previous Grasshopper tests relied on the other rocket sensors but for this test, an additional, higher accuracy sensor was in the control loop. In other words, SpaceX was directly controlling the vehicle based on new sensor readings, adding a new level of accuracy in sensing the distance between Grasshopper and the ground, enabling a more precise landing.
> 
> Grasshopper is a 10-story Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle designed to test the technologies needed to return a rocket back to Earth intact. While most rockets are designed to burn up on atmosphere reentry, SpaceX rockets are being designed not only to withstand reentry, but also to return to the launch pad for a vertical landing. The Grasshopper VTVL vehicle represents a critical step towards this goal.
> 
> Grasshopper consists of a Falcon 9 rocket first stage tank, Merlin 1D engine, four steel and aluminum landing legs with hydraulic dampers, and a steel support structure.

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## Airicist

Grasshopper 744m Test

Published on Oct 12, 2013




> On Monday, October 7th, Grasshopper completed its highest leap to date, rising to 744m altitude. The view above is taken from a single camera hexacopter, getting closer to the stage than in any previous flight. 
> 
> Grasshopper is a 10-story Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing (VTVL) vehicle designed to test the technologies needed to return a rocket back to Earth intact. While most rockets are designed to burn up on atmosphere reentry, SpaceX rockets are being designed not only to withstand reentry, but also to return to the launch pad for a vertical landing. The Grasshopper VTVL vehicle represents a critical step towards this goal.
> 
> Grasshopper consists of a Falcon 9 rocket first stage tank, Merlin 1D engine, four steel and aluminum landing legs with hydraulic dampers, and a steel support structure.

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## Airicist

Lift-Off! SpaceX Launches Thaicom 6 Satellite

Published on Jan 6, 2014




> The commercial space company has launched a second satellite in 2 months aboard an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket. It launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 6, 2014.

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## Airicist

SpaceX Conducts Dragon Parachute Test 

Published on Jan 17, 2014




> NASA Commercial Crew Program partner Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, conducted a drop test of a Dragon test article in December. The capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Morro Bay, Calif. The drop test enabled SpaceX engineers to evaluate the spacecraft's parachute deployment system as part of a milestone under its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability agreement with NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

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## Airicist

2014 | SpaceX Year in Review 

Published on Dec 31, 2014




> Relive SpaceX’s 2014 highlights: launching rockets, landing stages, and unveiling our next generation crewed spacecraft.

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## Airicist

SpaceX & What "Failure" Means 

Published on Jan 15, 2015




> SpaceX tried something audacious with Falcon-9 rocket launch to the International Space Station-- keep part of the rocket after its used! This has never been done before, and recovery this time was not successful, but steps have been made to attempt to recover huge and expensive rocket pieces that historically end up discarded in the environment. Why is this important to the mission of space travel? And why is failure not necessarily so? Kim Horcher discusses with Phil Torres (Scientist, host of Al Jazeera America's TechKnow) and Jason G. Goldman (Scientist, writer for Scientific American, BBC Future).

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## Airicist

4K Footage | SpaceX Launches 

Published on Apr 9, 2015




> Enjoy SpaceX launch footage in Ultra HD 4K. All footage used in this video was shot in 4K. If your connection is slow, toggle to 1080 HD for smoother playback.

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## Airicist

Why landing the SpaceX rocket on a drone barge is so hard 

Published on Apr 13, 2015




> Elon Musk came oh-so-close to success with his first attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket on a platform, but still pegs the changes of SpaceX's second try at 50-50. We explain why the mission is so difficult.

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## Airicist

Matthew Lynley Backstage with the SpaceX Team

Published on Feb 9, 2016




> Matthew Lynley talks backstage with the SpaceX team, winners of the 2016 Crunchies Award for Best Technology Achievement, about reusable rockets and humanity's future in space.

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## Airicist

SpaceX is sending spacecraft to Mars in 2018

Published on Apr 29, 2016




> Elon Musk is taking a big first step toward colonizing Mars. His company SpaceX announced plans to start sending spacecraft to the Red Planet as early as 2018. That means SpaceX could be the first private company to land hardware on another planet.

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## Airicist

Boom! SpaceX's explosive rocket landing blooper reel

Published on Sep 14, 2017




> 'How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket' - explosive video of rocket failures produced and edited by SpaceX


"Boom! SpaceX's Rocket Landing Blooper Reel Is Epic ... and Explosive"

by Tariq Malik
September 14, 2017

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## Airicist

SpaceX: revolutionizing the space industry

Published on Aug 23, 2019




> SpaceX is perhaps one of the most important companies in the world. When it comes to revolutionizing the space industry, SpaceX is the first thing that comes to my mind. From landing reusable rockets to putting humans on Mars, they are the pioneers of the future of space travel. They've achieved so much that people are even asking the question, "Who will get us to Mars first? NASA vs. SpaceX?" But, what does SpaceX do? And why are they important?

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## Airicist

NASA in Silicon Valley Live: Space Robots

Streamed live August 30, 2019




> Robots + astronauts = a match made in space exploration!  Join us at 7 p.m. EDT for a new episode of NASA in Silicon Valley Live to hear our  experts explain how we design & build robots to work with humans in space

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## Airicist

Article "Elon Musk’s SpaceX raised $850 million, jumping valuation to about $74 billion"

by Michael Sheetz
February 16, 2021

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## Airicist

twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1366848696298561536

Article "Elon Musk wants to rename SpaceX Starship digs to Starbase, Texas"
"From thence to Mars, And hence the Stars," Musk poetically tweeted.

by Amanda Kooser 
March 2, 2021


Article "Elon Musk seeks to create the city of Starbase in South Texas"

by Andrea Leinfelder
March 2, 2021

Article "Elon Musk is trying to create a new city called 'Starbase' at SpaceX's Texas launch site"

by Morgan McFall-Johnsen and Aria Bendix
March 2, 2021

Article "Musk Floats ‘Starbase’ Name Change for Texas Launch Town"

by Sergio Chapa and Justin Bachman
March 3, 2021

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## Airicist

Article "SpaceX adds to previous equity round, pushing Elon Musk’s last raise total to nearly $1.2 billion"

by Michael Sheetz
April 14, 2021

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## Airicist

NASA picks SpaceX for Artemis Human Lunar Lander development

Apr 17, 2021




> NASA is getting ready to send astronauts to explore more of the Moon as part of the Artemis program, and the agency has selected SpaceX to continue development of the first commercial human lander that will safely carry the next two American astronauts to the lunar surface. 
> 
> The agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for their multi-day journey to lunar orbit. There, two crew members will transfer to the SpaceX human landing system (HLS) for the final leg of their journey to the surface of the Moon. After approximately a week exploring the surface, they will board the lander for their short trip back to orbit where they will return to Orion and their colleagues before heading back to Earth.


"As Artemis Moves Forward, NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Next Americans on Moon"

April 16, 2021

"NASA picks SpaceX and Starship to send Artemis astronauts to the moon"
Elon Musk's rocket company was the only one selected to provide the spacecraft that'll take the next humans to the lunar surface.

by Eric Mack 
April 16, 2021

Artemis program

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## Airicist

Article "Firefly selects SpaceX to launch its lunar lander"

by Jeff Foust
May 20, 2021

Firefly Aerospace

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## Airicist2

Article "Elon Musk says SpaceX could face ‘genuine risk of bankruptcy’ from Starship engine production"

by Derek Wise
November 29, 2021

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## Airicist2

Article "SpaceX Valued at $137 Billion in Latest Funding Round, CNBC Says"

by Anurag Kotoky
January 3, 2023

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