Space Exploration Technologies Corp., doing business as SpaceX, is an American spaceflight, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence company headquartered at the Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. The company operates three divisions: "Space", which conducts more orbital launches annually than any other launch provider, including national programs; "Connectivity", which operates Since the founding of SpaceX in 2002, the company has developed several rocket engines – Merlin, Kestrel, and Raptor – for use in launch vehicles, Draco for the reaction control system of the Dragon series of spacecraft, and SuperDraco for abort capability in Crew Dragon. Merlin is a family of rocket engines that uses liquid oxygen (LOX) and RP-1 propellants. Merlin was first used to power the Falcon 1's first stage and is now used on both stages of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles. Kestrel uses the same propellants and was used as the Falcon 1 rocket's second-stage main engine. Draco and SuperDraco are hypergolic liquid-propellant rocket engines. Draco engines are used on the reaction control system of the Dragon and Dragon 2 spacecraft. The SuperDraco engine is more powerful, and eight SuperDraco engines provide launch escape capability for crewed Dragon 2 spacecraft during an abort scenario. Raptor is a family of liquid oxygen and liquid methane-fueled full-flow staged combustion cycle engines to power the first and second stages of the in-development Starship launch system. Development versions were test-fired in late 2016, and the engine flew for the first time in 2019, powering the Starhopper vehicle to an altitude of 20 m (66 ft). The SpaceX Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor, Texas, is used for rocket engine development and testing. Every SpaceX rocket engine and thruster undergoes acceptance testing at the facility before flight. The site is also used for research, development, and qualification testing of engines and other propulsion compone The company instead decided in 2005 to proceed with the development of the Falcon 9, a medium-lift launch vehicle intended to be reusable. Development of the Falcon 9 was accelerated by NASA, which committed to purchasing several commercial flights if specific capabilities were demonstrated. In 2006, the company was selected by NASA and awarded $396 million to provide crew and cargo resupply demonstration contracts to the International Space Station (ISS) under the COTS program. The contract provided development funding for the Dragon spacecraft, Falcon 9, and demonstration launches of Falcon 9 with Dragon. The company said it would use the spectrum as a foundation for Starlink's direct-to-cell business around the globe. ==== Starlink in the Russo-Ukrainian war ==== ==== Starship ==== On April 20, 2023, Starship's first orbital flight test ended in a mid-air explosion over the Gulf of Mexico before booster separation. After launch, multiple engines in the booster progressively failed, causing the vehicle to reach max q The FAA, on January 18, required a mishap investigation of the failure. On March 7, 2025, SpaceX launched another Starship rocket, this time from Texas. Contact was lost minutes into the test flight and the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart, with wreckage seen across Florida's skies. As per preliminary investigation, Starship's 7th test flight was disrupted by an oxygen leak, flashes and sustained fires in its aft section, which caused the rocket's engines to shut down and turn on the spacecraft's self-destruct system. Not long after the explosion, several SpaceX employees filed documents with the Texas Secretary of State to form the Starbase Volunteer Fire Department, intending to respond to calls within city limits, not including the test site. While cleaning the site, a crane collapse in relation to safety violations would cause the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to fine SpaceX approximately $116,000. On May 22, 2026, SpaceX successfully launched the twelfth flight test of Starship. This was the first flight of the V3 vehicle, incorporating Raptor 3 engines. It was also the first flight test to carry a payload into orbit, lofting approximately 44,000 kg (97,000 lbs) of Starlink mass simulators. During launch, one of the 33 Raptor 3 engines on the Super Heavy first stage shut down early, and one of the 6 Starship upper-stage engines shut down prematurely, but despite the engine-out, the vehicle achieved its planned suborbital trajectory. The booster suffered a subsequent anomaly and was destroyed before splashdown over the Gulf of Mexico, while the ship safely completed its orbital pass and achieved a targeted soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean near Australia. Draco engines are used on the reaction control system of the Dragon and Dragon 2 spacecraft. The SuperDraco engine is more powerful, and eight SuperDraco engines provide launch escape capability for crewed Dragon 2 spacecraft during an abort scenario. Raptor is a family of liquid oxygen and liquid methane-fueled full-flow staged combustion cycle engines to power the first and second stages of the in-development Starship launch system. Development versions were test-fired in late 2016, and the engine flew for the first time in 2019, powering the Starhopper vehicle to an altitude of 20 m (66 ft). According to SpaceX, more than 7,000 tests had been conducted at the facility by 2024 across more than a dozen test stands. Company president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell maintains an office at the site. The property was originally part of the Bluebonnet Ordnance Plant during World War II. It was later used by Beal Aerospace before being leased by SpaceX in 2003. SpaceX expanded the facility from approximately 256 acres (104 ha) in 2003 to 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) by 2015. In 2021, SpaceX announced plans to construct an additional Raptor engine production facility at McGregor to increase manufacturing capacity.