

SpaceX Statistics: Landings, Rocket Boosters, & Employee Demographics
Posts by Colin TanJuly 4, 2023
It can be said that Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, is a forward-thinking person.
After all, he created Tesla which has helped to revolutionize the car industry while promoting clean energy.
SpaceX was created to revolutionize the aerospace industry.
Musk wants to make space travel affordable while proving it is possible to live on other planets.
It’s certainly a grand aim, the SpaceX statistics will show us how close he is getting to achieving this aim.
Introducing SpaceX
SpaceX was started in 2002 with the initial goal of creating reusable rockets.
Musk believed this was the key to affordable space travel.
By 2006 the Falcon 1 rocket had been created and launched, it reached Earth orbit and the rest is history.
Naturally, technology has developed since.
Key Statistics
- In 2022 the space x dragon sent two astronauts to the iss for the first time
- At present space x is the only commercial company capable of taking astronauts into space
- Space x has successfully launched 61 rockets in 2022
- The space x starship is the biggest rocket ever built
- 98% of space x boosters are retrieved after use to be reused
- There are 9,500 people employed at space x
- 86% of employees are men
- 50% of space x employees are white
Top SpaceX Statistics in 2025
1. In 2020 The SpaceX Dragon Sent Two Astronauts To The ISS For The First Time
The SpaceX Dragon is a result of extensive testing. It was preceded by several prototypes before the first Dragon flew to the ISS in 2019.
It successfully reached the ISS and returned to Earth. The rocket spent eight days in space.
Sadly, this rocket was unexpectedly destroyed on the ground as SpaceX performed tests on the abort system.
With the wrinkles ironed out, the new dragon launched on May 30 2020 with two NASA astronauts.
It carried them successfully to the ISS and brought them safely back to Earth on August 2 2020.
The second crew of four went to the ISS on A SpaceX Dragon in November 2020.
There have been several more successful trips since.
(Space.com)
2. At Present SpaceX Is The Only Commercial Company Capable Of Taking Astronauts Into Space
At the moment, SpaceX is the only commercial company able to offer rides into space.
NASA has used SpaceX on several occasions for this exact purpose.
In fact, under current arrangements, NASA has a contract with SpaceX for 9 crewed flights to the ISS per year.
While other companies are looking to develop systems capable of rivaling SpaceX, at this time SpaceX is the only one that meets NASA certification standards.
The NASA contract with SpaceX helps to fund the development of Starship, a rocket that is intended to go to Mars.
Making SpaceX the sole provider of astronaut taxis for now also allows NASA to focus on helping Boeing complete their spacecraft.
This will give SpaceX competition and increase the number of available flights into space.
It’s not just NASA that is interested, several private firms are eager to get into space on SpaceX rockets.
(space.com)
3. SpaceX Has Successfully Launched 61 Rockets In 2022
SpaceX has gradually launched more rockets every year, from its humble initial flight in 2006 to present day.
In fact, in 2022 it launched 61 rockets, at points it was launching a rocket every 6 days.
All of these have carried payloads, some of these have carried payloads for NASA, many have been used to deploy the Starlink satellites which are offering internet access across the globe.
SpaceX’s 61 launches rival the Soviet rocket launches in 1980 as the most in any year.
It’s an impressive achievement, especially as they have all been successful.
Of course, this record is likely to be dwarfed in 2023. SpaceX plans to launch over 90 rockets in one year.
The majority of rockets launched have been the tried and tested Falcon 9, although more recently the Falcon Heavy is managing to blast off.
(Statista)
4. The SpaceX Starship Is The Biggest Rocket Ever Built
SpaceX and Elon Musk are committed to building the Starship. This is the rocket that will eventually carry people to Mars.
It was originally scheduled to launch on April 17 2023 but this was postponed to April 19 2023.
This rocket isn’t just tall,(50 meters high), it has 8.8 million pounds of thrust, the previous record holder was NASA’s Saturn V with 7.5 million pounds of thrust.
It can carry 150 metric tonnes of fuel and is fully reusable.
It’s also designed to carry humans and cargo, allowing people to journey to the moon and beyond. It can even be used to travel anywhere around the globe in just one hour.
NASA has already commissioned the Starship to take astronauts to the moon in 2025.
The initial test in April 2023 resulted in Starship’s explosions.
However, the next Starship is due to be launched mid-2023 and is, according to SpaceX, highly likely to be successful.
That’s after over 1,000 changes have been made, potentially resolving all the problems encountered on the first launch.
(Time)
5. 98% Of SpaceX Boosters Are Retrieved After Use To Be Reused
A key part of SpaceX’s strategy to make space flight affordable is to reuse the rockets and boosters.
This has required the development of a guidance system and speed control to bring the parts back to Earth safely.
Impressively, 98% of the boosters have successfully been retrieved without damage and can be reused. The majority of them land safely on a floating platform!
It’s a big step forward toward affordable space travel.
(Statista)
6. There Are 9,500 People Employed At SpaceX
It takes a lot of labor to build rockets and complete all the necessary computations to ensure a successful space flight.
Alongside this, people are needed for launch control and even standard administration tasks.
It’s not surprising that SpaceX currently employs roughly 11,000 people.
It’s a significant contribution to the local economy as many employees are based at the company headquarters.
SpaceX is also able to attract some of the brightest minds of our time, including a 14-year-old prodigy who has become the youngest-ever software engineer.
Of course, there have been some controversies along the way.
Most recently, eight SpaceX employees say they were fired due to writing an open letter which criticized the chief executive.
(Zippia)
7. 86% Of Employees Are Men
SpaceX, and Elon Musk in particular, has gained a reputation for a lack of tolerance regarding unions and employee dissent.
There have been several cases launched against him from disgruntled staff, both at SpaceX and Tesla.
It’s therefore interesting to note that 86% of employees at SpaceX are men. Or, put another way, just 14% are women.
It is worth noting that 21% of the executives are women, a better ratio than men to women across the business.
This does open questions regarding why there are so few female employees, especially when NASA is publicly promoting female scientists such as Vandi Verma.
(Zippia)
8. 50% Of SpaceX Employees Are White
Approximately half of SpaceX employees are white, 26% are Hispanic or Latino, and 11% are Asian.
While SpaceX may have a limited number of female employees, they do seem to have a better range of ethnic groups.
It’s worth noting that most SpaceX employees are democratic and they stay at the company for approximately three and a half years.
The average SpaceX employee makes $52,155 per year.
(Zippia)
The SpaceX Mission
Elon Musk created SpaceX to reduce the cost of space travel and provide a way forward for the human race.
He sees the space program as an opportunity to reduce the strain on this planet and to protect the human race from extinction.
As such, his ultimate goal is to build the Starship and take humans to Mars, allowing them to live self-sufficiently.
Musk isn’t the first person to envision people living on Mars.
However, he may be the first person that can make this happen. The success of this mission revolves around costs.
If they can be brought down sufficiently then Mars becomes possible.
SpaceX intends to build a ship even bigger than Starship and have a fleet of passenger spaceships, allowing them to ferry people back and forth.
This will encourage sustainable living and even tourism to Mars.
Part of the plan also includes being able to refuel ships in orbit, to reduce the need and cost of them coming back and forth to the planet’s surface.
Elon Musk believes the first people could visit Mars within the next decade.
By 2060 he envisions a colony existing on the planet, allowing humans to become multi-planetary for the first time ever.
Summing Up
By many standards SpaceX is a young company. It’s been operating for less than 20 years.
But, during that time it has revitalized the space industry and made huge steps forward toward its goals.
Much of this is due to their approach, try it, fix it, and try again philosophy.
While there have been failures, the SpaceX statistics actually show a safe approach to space travel.
That’s as important as getting off the ground, if the company wants people to use its services in the future.
More importantly, it’s working and, at this rate, there may be a human colony on Mars by 2060!