The SpaceX Archive

The SpaceX Archive

Sources

Provenance

The company updates come from SpaceX's public website, as the Internet Archive saved it. Each article is credited to the publication that ran it. The photographs are SpaceX's unless a caption says otherwise.

Each document's date and source sit at the top of its page, and Documents lists them all by date. Every line the editor adds, on the timeline or in a margin note, names its source.

The tables below hold the numbers behind the timeline. The band's thickness is the number of people at SpaceX; money flows in as equity and NASA payments. The readout names each Merlin engine.

People at SpaceX (27 counts)

March 14, 20022 (estimated)Shotwell, House testimony 2011-05-26Our workforce, which has grown rapidly from two employees in 2002 to more than 1,300 employees today
November 15, 200214 (estimated)Space News (Brian Berger), 'Web Entrepreneur Eyes Small Launcher Market', archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20070816035819/http://spacex.com:80/media.php?page=1Space X has just 14 employees, including Musk
March 26, 200322Investor's Business Daily, March 26, 2003, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20071012125650/http://www.spacex.com/media.php?page=6SpaceX's 22 employees are building a 68-foot, two-stage launch vehicle
April 15, 200322USA Today, April 15, 2003, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20070816035536/http://spacex.com:80/media.php?page=9working with his 22 employees out of a converted factory in El Segundo
May 12, 200322SpaceNews interviewEmployees: 22 with 35 expected by the launcher's debut
February 15, 2004about 40 (estimated)Santa Maria Times 4/27/2005, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20071012130425/http://www.spacex.com/media.php?page=39an increase from about 40 in early 2004
January 16, 200590SpaceX FAQ page, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20050116045953/http://www.spacex.com:80/faq.phpSpaceX has 90 employees and we are currently hiring
April 27, 2005about 110 (approximate)Santa Maria Times, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20071012130425/http://www.spacex.com/media.php?page=39The El Segundo-based company now has some 110 employees
May 2, 2005110Investor's Business Daily, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20070816035734/http://spacex.com:80/media.php?page=40His company has 110 employees and 75,000 square feet of office and warehouse facilities
May 15, 2005about 130 (estimated)SpaceX 'May 2005 Update', archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20060324191336/http://www.spacex.com/updates_02_05.phpWe have tripled in size from a year ago and are now at about 130 employees
November 14, 2005about 160 (approximate)The Space ReviewSpaceX right now has about 160 employees, including about 40 working on propulsion, 30 on avionics, 30 on structures, and 50 in manufacturing.
February 5, 2006about 160 (approximate)New York Times 2/5/2006, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20070817113330/http://spacex.com:80/media.php?page=44Many of the 160 employees, including former engineers from Boeing and other aerospace companies
August 17, 2007about 350 (approximate)Musk update Aug 17, 2007, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20071214113554/http://www.spacex.com:80/updates_archive.php?page=081707the SpaceX team has expanded to about 350 employees
December 15, 2007370Inc. Magazine, Dec 2007, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20071221004216/http://www.spacex.com:80/media.php?page=63SpaceX employs 370
September 28, 2008about 500 (approximate)Space.coman elated group of 500 employees at his Hawthorne, Calif.-based headquarters
May 14, 2009about 700 (approximate)Musk update May 14, 2009, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20110104060152/http://www.spacex.com/updates_archive.php?page=2009_1Our team now numbers over 700 and we're still hiring
March 18, 2010about 1,000 (approximate)Shotwell, Senate Commerce subcommitteethe nearly one thousand employees of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)
August 15, 2010about 1,100 (estimated)Musk updates 2010, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20110518075752/http://www.spacex.com/updates_archive.php?page=2010we passed the 1,100 mark -- not including this past summer's crop of 67 visiting interns // Our team now numbers over 1,200
December 6, 2010about 1,200 (approximate)COTS-1 press kit, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20101217112320/http://www.spacex.com/downloads/cots1-20101206.pdfThe company has over 1,200 employees in California, Texas and Florida.
April 28, 2011about 1,300 (approximate)STS-134 press kit, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20110518073422/http://www.spacex.com/downloads/20110428-spacex-sts-134.pdfThe company has nearly 1,300 employees in California, Texas and Florida.
May 26, 2011about 1,300 (approximate)Shotwell, House testimonyour more than 1,300 employees across the United States
October 26, 2011about 1,500 (approximate)Musk, House Science hearingOn behalf of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and our more than 1,500 employees across the United States
April 30, 2012about 1,500 (approximate)Musk update, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20120502142020/http://www.spacex.com:80/updatesFrom the 1,500 team members here at SpaceX
May 14, 2012about 1,700 (approximate)COTS-2 press kit, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20120612051200/http://www.spacex.com:80/downloads/COTS-2-Press-Kit-5-14-12.pdfThe company has over 1,700 employees at its headquarters in Hawthorne, CA
October 1, 2012about 1,800 (estimated)CRS-1 press kit, archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20121016123807/http://www.spacex.com/downloads/spacex-crs-1-presskit.pdfThe company has more than 1,800 employees at its headquarters in Hawthorne, California
March 1, 2013about 3,000 (estimated)CRS-2 press kit (cover: March 2013), archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20130304132339/http://www.spacex.com/downloads/crs2-press-kit.pdfThe company has more than 3,000 employees at its headquarters in Hawthorne, California
October 16, 2013about 3,800 (approximate)Parabolic Arc (Jeff Foust live notes), archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20131021205910/http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/10/16/ispcs-morning-session-gwynne-shotwell-spacex/SpaceX is now up to about 3,800 employees, counting contractors working for the company.

Money in (86 payments and rounds)

December 18, 2002Equity: Series A, first tranche$12.1M (estimated)SpaceX IPO prospectus and Tracxn
June 30, 2004Equity: Series A, the rest$48.5M (estimated)SpaceX IPO prospectus
March 11, 2005Equity: Series B$10.4M (estimated)SpaceX IPO prospectus and SEC Form D
September 15, 2006NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Project management plan$23.1MNASA SP-2014-617
November 29, 2006NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 1 system requirements review$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
February 8, 2007NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 1 preliminary design review$18.1MNASA SP-2014-617
March 1, 2007NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Financing round 1$10.0MNASA SP-2014-617
March 7, 2007Equity: Series C$29.1M (estimated)SpaceX IPO prospectus and SEC Form D
March 15, 2007NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 2 system requirements review$31.2MNASA SP-2014-617
August 22, 2007NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 1 critical design review$8.1MNASA SP-2014-617
October 29, 2007NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 3 system requirements review$22.3MNASA SP-2014-617
December 19, 2007NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 2 preliminary design review$21.2MNASA SP-2014-617
March 21, 2008NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Draco initial hot fire$6.0MNASA SP-2014-617
March 21, 2008NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Financing round 2$10.0MNASA SP-2014-617
June 27, 2008NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 3 preliminary design review$22.0MNASA SP-2014-617
July 15, 2008Equity: Series D, Founders Fund$20.2M (estimated)SpaceX press release and IPO prospectus
August 4, 2008NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Multi-engine test$22.0MNASA SP-2014-617
December 18, 2008NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 2/3 critical design review$25.0MNASA SP-2014-617
January 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
February 8, 2009NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Financing round 3$10.0MNASA SP-2014-617
February 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
March 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
March 18, 2009Equity: Series E, first close$15.0MSEC Form D
April 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
May 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
June 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
July 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
July 23, 2009NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: CUCU flight unit$9.0MNASA SP-2014-617
August 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
September 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
October 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
November 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
December 15, 2009NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
December 18, 2009NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Cargo integration demo$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
December 31, 2009Equity: Series E, later closes$30.9M (estimated)SpaceX IPO prospectus
January 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
February 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
March 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
April 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
May 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
June 4, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$5.6M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
June 8, 2010NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 1 readiness review$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
July 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$3.0M (estimated)SpaceNews
August 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$3.0M (estimated)SpaceNews
September 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$3.0M (estimated)SpaceNews
October 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$3.0M (estimated)SpaceNews
October 28, 2010Equity: Series F$50.3MSEC Form D
November 10, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$3.0M (estimated)SpaceNews
December 15, 2010NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 1 mission$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
December 15, 2010NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
December 16, 2010NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$20.0MNASA SP-2014-617
January 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
February 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
March 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
March 31, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
April 6, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
April 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
May 10, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$10.0MNASA SP-2014-617
May 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
June 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
June 23, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$15.0MNASA SP-2014-617
July 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
August 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
August 24, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$10.0MNASA SP-2014-617
August 26, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$3.0MNASA SP-2014-617
September 14, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$20.0MNASA SP-2014-617
September 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
September 20, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$10.0MNASA SP-2014-617
October 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
October 26, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
October 26, 2011NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Augmented milestone$15.0MNASA SP-2014-617
November 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
December 15, 2011NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
January 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
February 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
March 9, 2012NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 2 readiness review$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
March 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
April 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
May 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$10.3M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
June 7, 2012NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 2 and Demo 3 missions$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
June 7, 2012NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 2 and Demo 3 missions$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
June 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$40.5M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
July 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$40.5M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
August 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$40.5M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016
August 22, 2012NASA, COTS: COTS milestone: Demo 3 readiness review$5.0MNASA SP-2014-617
September 15, 2012NASA, CRS: CRS payments (estimated)$40.5M (estimated)NASA OIG IG-13-016

Merlin engines (4 versions, by first flight)

March 24, 2006Merlin 1A on Falcon 177,000 lbf (343 kN)the update; Wikipedia
August 3, 2008Merlin 1C on Falcon 178,000 lbf (350 kN)no update gives a figure; Wikipedia
June 4, 2010Merlin 1C on Falcon 995,000 lbf (423 kN)the update; Wikipedia
September 29, 2013Merlin 1D on Falcon 9 v1.1147,000 lbf (654 kN)no update gives a figure; Wikipedia

Quotes (3)

Elon Musk, January 2009We were profitable last year, we will be this year and we expect to be next year.Via Satellite
Elon Musk, March 30, 2014We were running on fumes at that point. We had virtually no money... a fourth failure would have been absolutely game over. Done.60 Minutes
Gwynne Shotwell, July 19, 2022I figured we could pull a fifth launch off, but that was it.Stanford GSB