From bankruptcy to triumph: how SpaceX became the biggest money-making game in space

2026 marks a pivotal moment for the global capital market – SpaceX is preparing for an IPO that will change the face of the space industry. In the latest funding round, Elon Musk’s company’s valuation reached $800 billion, and the projected IPO valuation is expected to hit $1.5 trillion, which would be the largest public offering in history. If successful, SpaceX will beat Saudi Aramco’s 2019 record. This extraordinary journey – from a company seen as a joke of the industry to a powerhouse worth over a trillion dollars – is a story of courage, perseverance, and ruthless pragmatism in thinking.

When the engineer decided to challenge the giants

The story begins in 2001, when Elon Musk, holding over $100 million from PayPal, makes a decision that seemed crazy. Instead of joining the ranks of wealthy investors in entertainment or technology, he decides to build rockets. His ambition was far-reaching – he wanted to go to Mars.

The first attempt to acquire equipment was humiliating. During a mission to Russia to buy a peripheral missile, engineers from the Lavochkin Design Bureau showed Musk and his team outright contempt. The trip ended in failure – they were offered only a refurbished Dnepr rocket at an astronomically high price. On the return flight, while his companions complained, Musk was working on his computer. After a moment, he showed a spreadsheet with the words: “We will build it ourselves.”

In February 2002, SpaceX was officially founded in an old warehouse in El Segundo. Musk poured $100 million of his savings into it. The vision was to create a “Southwest Airlines for the space industry” – an affordable and reliable carrier. Reality proved brutal. The space industry, dominated by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, not only had advanced technology but also strong government ties. The new player faced one strategy – mockery and disregard.

The hell of early failures

The first Falcon 1 rocket was supposed to reach orbit in 2006. After just 25 seconds, it exploded. A year later, the second launch – again a disaster after a few minutes. In 2008, the third attempt ended with a collision of both stages over the Pacific. Jokes flooded the industry and media – “thinking rockets can be fixed like code?”

2008 turned out to be the darkest period for Musk. The world was plunged into a financial crisis, Tesla was on the brink of bankruptcy, and his marriage had fallen apart. SpaceX had only enough cash for one last launch. If the fourth attempt failed, the company would be dissolved, and Musk would face complete ruin.

The most painful blow came from childhood idols. Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan – legends of lunar exploration – publicly expressed doubts about Musk’s project. Armstrong clearly said: “You don’t understand what you don’t know.” In later interviews, Musk broke down in tears, recalling these words from men he had admired his entire life.

On September 28, 2008, a breakthrough occurred. Falcon 1 soared into the sky without explosion. After 9 minutes of flight, the engine shut down as planned, and the payload reached the designated orbit. The control center erupted in applause and cheers. On the same day, SpaceX received a NASA contract worth $1.6 billion for 12 flights. The company survived and received the “elixir of life” for many years to come.

The revolution of reusable rockets

However, Musk’s true vision went beyond individual successes. He insisted on an apparently irrational goal – rockets must be reusable. All experienced engineers opposed it. The argument was simple: if airplanes were discarded after each flight, no one could fly. If rockets are not made reusable, space will always remain a toy for the elite.

Musk returned to fundamental principles of physics and economics. In 2001, he analyzed rocket construction costs in Excel and discovered a shocking truth – traditional giants inflate costs by dozens of times. Aluminum and titanium on the London metal exchange cost as much as interesting structural components of rockets. “Why does a finished part cost a thousand times more?” he asked.

On December 21, 2015, the history of astronautics changed even more. Falcon 9 with 11 satellites launched from Cape Canaveral. After 10 minutes, the first stage landed vertically in Florida, exactly where it started. This moment shattered old industry rules and marked the beginning of an era of affordable spaceflight.

Stainless steel instead of carbon fiber

If recovering rockets was a physical challenge, building Starship from ordinary stainless steel was an engineering genius. Industry tradition dictated using expensive carbon fiber composites – a lightweight and advanced material. SpaceX invested huge resources into molds for their production.

Musk returned to first principles. Carbon fiber costs $135 per kilogram and is difficult to process. 304 stainless steel, used for pots, costs just $3 per kilogram. “But steel is too heavy,” engineers argued. Musk pointed out a overlooked physical fact – melting temperature. Carbon fiber poorly tolerates extreme temperatures and requires expensive thermal insulation tiles. Stainless steel has a melting point of 1400°C, and under low-temperature conditions of liquid oxygen, its strength increases.

The final calculation revealed something surprising: considering the entire insulation system’s weight, a stainless steel rocket weighs almost the same as one made of carbon fiber but costs 40 times less. This change completely freed SpaceX from the constraints of precise manufacturing. Instead of sterile cleanrooms, the company could set up tents in the Texas wilderness and weld rockets like water towers.

Starlink – infrastructure of the future

A technological breakthrough translated into a rapid increase in valuation – from $1.3 billion in 2012 to $800 billion today. However, behind this astronomical figure lies not so much the rocket launch market but the Starlink constellation.

For ordinary people, SpaceX before Starlink was just spectacular footage – explosions or landings. Starlink changed everything. This network of thousands of satellites in low orbit became the world’s largest internet provider, turning “space” from a spectacle into infrastructure as fundamental as water or electricity.

Whether you’re on a ship in the middle of the ocean or in a conflict zone – a receiver the size of a pizza box is enough, and the signal comes from hundreds of kilometers above the atmosphere. This not only transformed the global communication landscape but also became an ever-growing money-making machine.

By November 2025, Starlink reached 7.65 million active subscribers, with the actual number exceeding 24.5 million users. North America accounts for 43% of subscriptions, while Korea and Southeast Asia drive 40% of growth. The most profitable activity in telecommunications is satellite operations – projected SpaceX revenue will reach $15 billion in 2025 and grow to $22-24 billion in 2026, with over 80% coming from Starlink.

SpaceX has thus undergone a spectacular transformation. It is no longer just a contractor for space contracts but a global telecommunications giant with a monopolistic position.

Before the biggest IPO in history

If SpaceX raises the planned $30 billion, it will beat Saudi Aramco’s 2019 record of $29 billion. Some investment banks speculate that the valuation could reach $1.5 trillion, allowing it to enter the top twenty largest companies in the world.

For factory workers in Boca Chica and Hawthorne, this means a revaluation of their work. Engineers who slept next to Musk in the factory and endured extreme production conditions will become millionaires or even billionaires.

For Musk himself, the IPO is not a traditional “exit with profit,” but an investment in a greater ambition. In 2022, he explicitly said at a SpaceX conference: “Going public is an invitation to suffering.” Three years later, he changed his mind. His ultimate vision requires astronomical investments – building a self-sustaining city on Mars within 20 years using 1,000 Starship ships.

Hundreds of billions of dollars from the IPO are for Musk an “interplanetary toll” collected from humanity. They will not be spent on yachts or residences but on fuel, steel, and oxygen that will pave the long road to the world of the red planet. All market observers are watching eagerly – will the largest IPO in history truly transform one vision into a shared future for the human species.