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Making History
SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.
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DRONESHIP LANDING
On April 8, 2016, the Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, and the first-stage returned and landed on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship.
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FIRST LAND LANDING
On December 21, 2015, the Falcon 9 rocket delivered 11 communications satellites to orbit, and the first-stage returned and landed at Landing Zone 1 -– the first-ever orbital class rocket landing.
Pad Abort Test
Crew Dragon tests launch abort system, which can provide astronauts with escape capability all the way to orbit.
Drone Ship Landings
SpaceX begins series of first-stage landing attempts on an autonomous spaceport
drone ship.
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Spacex Awarded $2.6b Commercial Crew Contract
NASA awards SpaceX contract to fly American astronauts.
Falcon 9 Reusable Test Vehicle Flies 1000M
Vehicle completes highest leap to date, lands safely.
First Stage Landing
Falcon 9 first stage successfully lands in Atlantic Ocean.
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First Flight of Falcon 9 to GTO
Falcon 9 reaches Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit
Grasshopper Completes Half-mile Flight
The Grasshopper program finished with a 744m flight, hover, and landing.
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Dragon Visits Station
Dragon becomes the first private spacecraft in history to visit the space station.
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Dragon Returns from Earth Orbit
On December 8, 2010, Dragon became the first privately developed spacecraft in history to re-enter from low-Earth orbit.
Advancing the Future
Under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA, SpaceX is flying numerous cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station, for a total of at least 20 flights under the Commercial Resupply Services contract. In 2016, NASA awarded SpaceX a second version of that contract that will cover a minimum of 6 additional flights from 2019 onward. In the near future, SpaceX will carry crew as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program as well. Dragon was designed from the outset to carry astronauts and SpaceX is in the process of upgrading Dragon to make it crew-ready. SpaceX is the world’s fastest-growing provider of launch services and has over 70 future missions on its manifest, representing over $10 billion in contracts. These include commercial satellite launches as well as NASA and other US Government missions.
Currently under development is the Falcon Heavy, which will be the world’s most powerful rocket. All the while, SpaceX continues to work toward one of its key goals—developing reusable rockets, a feat that will transform space exploration by delivering highly reliable vehicles at radically reduced costs.