SpaceX

Entrepreneur and business magnate, Elon Musk is the CEO and founder of the aerospace company SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla Motors. He also hopes to change the world, advancing private spaceflight with the aim of landing humans on other planets like Mars, and developing a new tube-transport system called the Hyperloop. Live Science will keep you up on Musk’s latest ideas and developments so you can keep your two feet on Earth while looking up at the stars.

Related Topics: Technology, Drones, Artificial Intelligence

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The Falcon 9 booster separates from the rocket's second stage in this still image from SpaceX's Demo-2 mission animation.

How SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission will work in 13 steps

By Hanneke Weitering published

Here's a step-by-step explainer of what will happen during SpaceX's first Crew Dragon mission with astronauts, from prelaunch preparations to splashdown.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon stand at Launch Complex 39A on May 27, 2020, during the first launch attempt for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission.

Why would a little storm in the distance shut down historic SpaceX launch?

By Rafi Letzter published

Why should a little storm in the distance shut down a Falcon 9 launch? History, the tricky timing of matching orbits, and complex meteorology.

SpaceX's Starship SN4 rocket prototype explodes on its test stand near Boca Chica, Texas on May 29, 2020.

SpaceX's Starship SN4 prototype explodes after rocket engine test

By Tariq Malik published

SpaceX's latest Starship prototype exploded just after a rocket engine test Friday (May 30), erupting in a dramatic fireball at the spaceflight company's Texas proving grounds.

NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 crew members Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley wave to their families, friends and support team members as they prepare to depart for Launch Complex 39A on May 27, 2020.

How to watch historic SpaceX astronaut launch on Saturday

By Stephanie Pappas published

Spectators crowd the lawn at the end of Main Street in Titusville, Fla., to watch SpaceX launch Demo-2, its first astronaut launch for NASA, from the Kennedy Space Center on May 27, 2020.

SpaceX's historic astronaut launch attempt draws huge crowds despite NASA warnings

By Chelsea Gohd published

Despite warnings from NASA officials and the risks implied by the current pandemic, approximately 150,000 people gathered on Florida's space coast to watch the Crew Dragon launch.

This SpaceX diagram shows the many steps it takes to get Crew Dragon to the International Space Station on the Demo-2 mission.

Why SpaceX has to wait until Saturday for its next try to launch astronauts for NASA

By Mike Wall published

If you're frustrated that you now have to wait until Saturday (May 30) to see SpaceX's first crewed launch, you can blame Mother Nature and orbital mechanics.

NASA engineers inspect a test Mercury capsule.

Here's every spaceship that's ever carried an astronaut into orbit

By Meghan Bartels published

The hundreds of people who have been to space have traveled on just a handful of vehicles, eight in all over nearly six decades of spaceflight.

The crew access arm swings away from the Demo-2 SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on May 27, 2020. Bad weather nixed a planned liftoff on that day.

SpaceX delays 1st astronaut launch for NASA due to bad weather

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX will have to wait a few days to make history.

SpaceX's Demo-2 Crew Dragon, the first to carry astronauts, stands atop its Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center as the crew access arm swings into position for launch.

SpaceX will launch NASA astronauts for the 1st time today. Here's what to expect.

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX's first-ever crewed mission, a test flight called Demo-2, is scheduled to launch at 4:33 p.m. EDT today (May 27) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A photograph showing SpaceX's first batch of Starlink satellites during launch on May 23, 2019.

SpaceX's Starlink satellites will soon get glare-reducing 'sunshades,' Elon Musk says

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites will soon sport an accessory to tamp down their surprising brightness.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket making its fourth trip to space launches 60 new Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Nov. 11, 2019.

How to watch SpaceX launch 60 new Starlink satellites into orbit today

By Tariq Malik published

SpaceX will launch 60 new Starlink internet satellites into orbit on a used rocket today (April 22) and you can watch it all live online.

Erik Kuna captured an incredible view of SpaceX's CRS-20 cargo launch to the International Space Station. In this image the launch resembles a planetary nebula.

What's that in the sky? It's a SpaceX rocket, but it sure doesn't look like it

By Amy Thompson published

Two CubeSats, part of a constellation built and operated by Planet Labs Inc. to take images of Earth, were launched from the International Space Station on May 17, 2016.

Hackers could shut down satellites — or turn them into weapons

By William Akoto published

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa's ad for his "girlfriend contest" that has sparked a ton of negative feedback.

Billionaire Hosts Girlfriend Contest for 'First Woman to the Moon' and (Shocker) People Hate It

By Chelsea Gohd published

Will the first woman to travel to the moon be the winner of a billionaire's "girlfriend contest"? We really hope not.

A Russian Soyuz rocket carried two NASA astronauts, Nick Hague and Christina Koch, and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, toward the International Space Station on March 14, 2019.

The Greatest Spaceflight Moments of 2019

By Elizabeth Howell published

Three lunar missions, commercial spaceflight milestones, the first all-woman spacewalk — 2019 was a busy year in space for public and private entities alike.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket making its fourth trip to space launches 60 new Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Nov. 11, 2019.

SpaceX Just Launched 60 Starlink Satellites (And Nailed a Milestone Rocket Landing)

By Amy Thompson published

SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on its most flown Falcon 9 rocket yet, which made a historic fourth launch and landing on Monday (Nov. 11).

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals new details about Starship Mk, the company's enormous reusable launch system, and talks aliens in Boca Chica, Texas on September 28, 2019.

Elon Musk Doesn't Know Where the Aliens Are (So, Stop Asking)

By Chelsea Gohd published

At a recent event in Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirms that, to his knowledge, we haven't yet discovered aliens.

The Starship MK1 assembled at SpaceX's build and launch facility in Texas.

Why NASA's Annoyed About Elon Musk's Giant Rocket

By Rafi Letzter published

SpaceX has never flown a person into space in its first spacecraft, the Crew Dragon. But already Musk is showing off his big, shiny Starship — and NASA is bristling.

The Starship MK1 assembled at SpaceX's build and launch facility in Texas.

Could Elon Musk's Starship Threaten Alien Life?

By Samantha Rolfe published

Elon Musk's bold plan to send a crewed Starship to Mars and beyond has potential dire consequences for alien life.

An aerial view of SpaceX's Starship Mk1 prototype, seen during Elon Musk's Starship update in South Texas on Sept. 28, 2019.

Elon Musk Unveils SpaceX's New Starship Plans for Private Trips to the Moon, Mars and Beyond

By Tariq Malik published

Elon Musk has a Starship, and one day he expects it will help SpaceX reach other worlds.