SpaceX is once again poised for takeoff. After Thursday’s launch was scrubbed due to thick cloud cover, Elon Musk’s aerospace giant is aiming to send its Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday. The launch window reopens at 12:09 p.m. ET at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“Standing down from today’s Falcon 9 launch of Dragon due to cloud cover at the launch site,” SpaceX posted on X at 12:13 p.m. Thursday.
According to NASA, this marks the eleventh crew rotation mission with SpaceX and the twelfth overall human spaceflight under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
“The Crew-11 cadre will fly aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft that previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Demo Mission-2, Crew-2, Crew-6, and Crew-8, in addition to Axiom Mission 1, the first private astronaut mission to the microgravity laboratory,” NASA noted in a blog post.
Astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke of NASA, Kimiya Yui of JAXA, and Oleg Platonov of Russia’s Roscosmos will be onboard when the Falcon 9 finally leaves the launchpad.
Here’s a breakdown of what makes SpaceX the dominant force in private spaceflight, and why the whole world is watching.
Musk’s Mission: Mars and Beyond
Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with a single, sky-high ambition: to make humans a multiplanetary species.
Originally based in Hawthorne, California, the company is now headquartered at Starbase, a sprawling site in southern Texas. SpaceX currently employs 13,000 people and generated $8.7 billion in revenue in 2024, according to Forbes. It is the most valuable private company in the U.S., reportedly worth around $400 billion.
Musk, also CEO of Tesla, remains focused on long-term colonization goals. The competition is fierce. He has an ongoing rivalry with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose Blue Origin space venture is also vying for dominance.
Inside the Rocket Lab: Reusability Rewrites the Rules
SpaceX doesn’t just build rockets. It revolutionizes how we use them.
Described on Global Data’s site as a “space aviation company that designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft,” SpaceX has launch operations at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, and California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.
As of Wednesday, the company boasts 521 completed missions, 482 successful landings, and 448 reflights.
“While most rockets are designed to burn up on reentry, SpaceX rockets can not only withstand reentry but can also successfully land back on Earth and refly again,” the company states.
Starlink: SpaceX’s Internet in the Sky
Beyond rockets and astronauts, SpaceX is quietly dominating the satellite internet space.
The company’s Starlink division operates the world’s first and largest satellite constellation in low Earth orbit, enabling broadband internet fast enough to support gaming, streaming, and video calls in remote corners of the globe.
Cruise ships, airlines, and disaster zones are already benefiting. United Airlines and Carnival Corporation have signed on to offer Starlink-powered Wi-Fi to passengers in the air and at sea.
After Hurricane Milton hit in October 2024, Starlink kits were deployed to restore mobile service in partnership with telecom carriers. Musk also sent Starlink satellites to Ukraine to help maintain connectivity during the war with Russia.
“Starlink internet is now available on all Carnival Corporation ships across the world,” Carnival announced.
Not Every Launch Ends With Applause
For all its accolades, SpaceX has faced setbacks. Some fiery and dramatic.
Just last month, a Starship rocket exploded in Texas, lighting up the sky in a massive fireball that quickly went viral. It was a reminder that in the space business, risk and reward go hand in hand.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 rocket scheduled for this week’s launch experienced trouble of its own earlier this year. In July, a “liquid oxygen leak” caused its Merlin Vacuum engine to malfunction.
The result? A catastrophic loss of satellites.
Trump, Politics, and the Government Dollar
SpaceX’s relationship with the U.S. government has been both lucrative and politically charged.
Former President Donald Trump attended a launch event in May 2025, even after a public falling-out with Musk, who once held a key role in Trump’s now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“President Donald Trump waves goodbye to the crowd after attending a post launch gathering after NASA commercial crew astronauts Doug Hurley (L) and Bob Behnken blast off from historic Launch Complex 39A aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the crew D,” reads a Getty caption from a past event.
And while the two tech titans may have clashed, there’s no denying the federal cash flowing into Musk’s ventures. SpaceX, a top contractor for NASA and the U.S. Space Force, has received at least $1 billion annually in loans, subsidies, and contracts since 2016. From 2021 through 2024, that figure jumped to between $2 billion and $4 billion per year.
“Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump listen to a question from reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC,” reads another image caption from Getty.
With the Crew-11 mission finally ready for launch, all eyes are once again on SpaceX. Whether it’s building Martian dreams, deploying satellite networks, or navigating political headwinds, Musk’s empire continues to reach for the stars, sometimes literally.
