The problem SpaceX set out to solve
Before SpaceX, launching 1 kg to LEO cost ~$54,000. Rockets were expendable. SpaceX's thesis: reusability is the key to economically accessible space. Imagine discarding your 747 after every transatlantic flight.
Falcon 9 and booster landing
Falcon 9 burns RP-1 and liquid oxygen in nine Merlin engines. On December 21, 2015, SpaceX landed an orbital-class booster for the first time in history. By 2024, individual boosters fly 20+ missions. Launch cost to LEO: ~$2,600/kg.
The Falcon Heavy
Three Falcon 9 cores bound together, making it the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Its 2018 test flight famously put Musk's Tesla Roadster into a solar orbit.
Starship
Starship is SpaceX's fully reusable next-generation vehicle targeting 100+ tonnes to orbit, using methane-fuelled Raptor engines with both stages designed for rapid full reuse and eventual Mars missions.
The Starlink flywheel
Starlink satellite internet requires frequent launches SpaceX provides itself at marginal cost. Vertical integration creates a flywheel accelerating both businesses, funding the Mars mission ambition.
