SpaceX's Starship project exceeded $15 billion in development costs

Space — IPO, Starship — key to the future

*SpaceX is preparing for an IPO valued at $1.75 trillion, and the main factor in its success will be the new Starship rocket.*

How much does it cost to develop Starship?
- Expenditure: over $15 billion on Starship development (data from documents prepared for the IPO).

- That’s almost four times more than the cost of Falcon 9, which was about $400 million.

- Falcon 9 is today SpaceX’s “working” rocket and laid the foundation for the company’s commercial dominance.

Starship – a new engine
Parameter Value Type Two‑stage rocket Purpose Flights to the Moon, Mars, satellite launches, and orbital data centers (ODC) Payload bay Can carry up to 60 Starlink V3 satellites in one flight Comparison with Falcon 9 Falcon 9 – 20–25 satellites; Starship – almost three times more

Financial contribution of Starship to SpaceX’s business
- 2024: $1.8 billion on development

- 2025: about $3 million

- In 2026, the launch of next‑generation Starlink V3 satellites using Starship is planned.

Technical challenges
Problem What needs to be solved Intensity of launches Elon Musk expects thousands of launches per year to deliver 100 GW of orbital ODCs (≈¼ of U.S. annual consumption). Ground infrastructure Fuel supplies, water system, heat shield for multiple re‑entries into the atmosphere. Liquid oxygen fuel is stored at extremely low temperatures; leakage risk requires airtight tanks. On‑orbit refueling Needed for long‑range missions but not yet tested; will require additional Starship launches.

Where and how it’s made
- Starbase (South Texas) – SpaceX’s own launch site, designed for mass production of Starship.

- Production capacity allows rockets to be built at speeds comparable to the aviation industry.

Progress after failures
- In the last 11 test flights (since 2023), the company has made hundreds of design changes.

- The first launch of Starship V3 is scheduled for October next year – this is the longest gap between tests.

Financial result from NASA
- NASA has already paid SpaceX for work preparing Starship for crewed lunar landings and other complex missions, confirming the rocket’s strategic importance to space programs.