SpaceX revenue has reached $16 billion.
3/4 from 9 million subscribers and the rest via launch and other NASA and DoW contracts.
Both will explode* in the coming years as there is exponential growth with Starlink subscribers.
Launch and provider services for DoW Starshield and Golden dome will be very interesting. Lots of money to be made there.
* I chose explode knowingly lol
I find it bizarre that Space Exploration Technologies and Starlink are the same company, but I guess the only way they can get an IPO to make sense for SpaceX is not to spinoff Starlink
(Note I know nothing about IPOs and the like, but clearly the wholly owned subsidiary is where the money is in terms of a long term profitable business.)
By the of this year, Starlink will surpass NASA’s budget if the current growth continues and I have no doubt it will with a doubling of countries serviced in the last year.
Especially with India coming online.
Other companies such as Blue Origin and Rocket Lab are doing similar with constellations they are launching and manufacturing whilst not doing the AI bit… yet.
Chinese companies are planning / doing the same.
So they’re really an internet infrastructure provider. I don’t see how the launch business, or the Mars research business makes sense for a publically listed internet service provider I guess? (And yes I get that Starlink is more than the commercial subscribers, so the launch business has some use in that business, but the Mars stuff is either just ■■■■■■■ investors money up a wall, or purely a publicity veneer painted over what the company actually does to make everyone thinks Elon’s cool.
SpaceX makes more than $50 million profit on every customer Falcon launch. Around 40 of these last year alone and growing. Sells a launch for $59.5 million with refurbishment cost of around $7 million.
Lots of growth in the launch space alone with new DoW and Dome contracts worth $10’s of billions. They will be worth billions in launch here alone not forgetting components like the satellite buses that other customers can put their packages on.
There is also a lot of scope in making money in moon bases and other NASA services for the moon.
Then there is the space satellite data centers. What this looks like is unclear at this stage. What is clear is that AWS / Blue origin and many others are looking into it.
If Spacex’s Mars vision is not just vaporware, it will consume a lot of that profit which is why I don’t want it public.
There is a lot more there that isn’t internet provider.
If the current vision will be delivered, who knows.
Money will be earned by Mars with NASA and other space agencies wanting services, but no way it’s a profit maker for decades if ever.
AWS / Blue originate doing all but the same Mars vision, but they do have Mars services in mind.
ADD:
Final one and I’ll shut up on this topic. For now. 
They also charge NASA $288 million per ISS cargo and crew flight. Once commercial stations start coming online in the next 5 years there is more money to be made.
Good video of a static fire today of the next generation RS-25e first stage engine for Artemis 4 or 5 onwards. Can’t remember which.
New engine as they have run out of the refurbished RS-25d engines produced in the shuttle era.
https://x.com/nasaspaceflight/status/2014443840606773672?s=46
Awesome achievement!! A bit more about her. Look at her degrees. Smart woman. Hopefully she gets to go to space.
https://www.space.gov.au/Katherine-Bennell-Pegg
Also remember other aussies that have been to space.
A full wet dress rehearsal of Artemis 2 is now scheduled for our Sunday 1pm.
a bit of history.
Good article.
A few other things on this disaster.
Bob Ebeling thought the boosters would explode on ignition due to the forces on the o-ring joints and the inflexible and shrunk o-rings letting out ignited fuel.
What actually happened was that the gap allowing fuel happened later due to forces in different directions causing different sections to rotate slightly allowing fuel to leek.
At the commission hearings, the 5 whistleblowers, including Bob, were not allowed to present their findings and reason for the failure. It was going to be a coverup.
It was Neil Armstrong, yes that Neil Armstrong, serving on the commission that allowed them present. They showed that the o-ring shrunk when frozen at that days launch temperature and it became inflexible. Picture 2 barrel sections pointing in slightly different directions with a gap in the seal . This allowed fuel to leak out.
As soon as Neil agreed, the coverup was over.
Columbia was another complete ■■■■■■■■■■■.
Not doing a spacewalk to visually assess if there was any damage caused by insulation foam hitting the wing.
Or not repurposing DoD satellites to investigate if there was damage as it cost too much.
Or not docking with the ISS to do visuals.
And not telling the crew some of the concerns of an investigation team looking into it.
And superiors not listening to their investigators.
Physicist Richard Feynman pretty universally gets credited with that moment:
Others had identified it as a possible issue previously, but they perhaps preferred Feynman, a great explainer and an outsider, to make the point.
As expected, NASA has pushed the earliest launch date for Artemis to the moon from Feb 8th to March due to issues encountered with Hydrogen leaking during propellant load in today’s wet dress rehearsal.
We might end up seeing starship 12, Artemis 2 and crew dragon within a few days of each other.
At least with Feb 8th being excluded I can focus on watching the Patriots beating the Seahawks into a pulp.
Summary of some of the 3rd year highlights from operation of JWST.
Includes new discoveries, confirmations and discrepancies from what was that to be known.
40 year Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy 1986.
I remember hearing about it in primary school
NASA
Need
Another
Seven
Astronauts
That was the joke doing the rounds at school.
RIP to the passengers who lost their lifes
That would definitely be classified.
Big space news day with Artemis testing and SpaceX acquiring XAi prior to expected IPO later this year.
Also, Falcons 9 2nd stage re-entry didn’t go to plan. Should de-orbit safely though.
