SpaceX is a private aerospace company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. In 2008, their rocket, Falcon 1, became the first privately funded rocket to reach orbit. Then in 2009 became the first privately funded company to put a satellite in orbit. And recently, became the first private company to put astronauts in space.
SpaceX's ultimate goal is to put humans on mars. Mars is about 140 million miles away, but thats not stopping Elon Musk. Its almost hard to comprehend waking up on a planet with 62% less gravity then Earth. Whether life on Mars is possible is up for debate, but it's Elon's lifelong goal to prove everyone whos doubting him wrong.
Falcon 9 is SpaceX's very own reusable rocket. Designed for human travel beyond Earth, it's reusability lowers the cost. The first stage consists of nine Merlin engines that generate more than 1.7 million pounds of thrust at sea level. The second stage is powered by one Merlin Vacuum Engine. It can be restarted multiple times to place several things in orbit. The Falcon 9 has had 91 total launches, and 37 reflown rockets.
The Dragon aims to be the first spacecraft to take humans to infinity and beyond. It can hold a large amount of cargo as well as 7 passengers. This became the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station in May 2020. Dragon has been launched 22 times, with 9 reflown missions.
