The extended image shows the trajectory of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it launches its space mission on December 11, 2022, and also shows the return of the booster and landing.
SpaceX
Elon Musk’s reusable rocket maker and satellite internet company, SpaceX, is raising $750 million in new funding that values the company at $137 billion, according to CNBC reports.
Last month, Bloomberg first reported that SpaceX is allowing investors to sell at $77 per share, which could increase the company’s valuation to $140 billion. The company has raised more than $2 billion in 2022, including a $250 million round in July, and a $127 billion round in May, CNBC previously reported.
According to an email sent to SpaceX investors, Andreessen Horowitz (also known as a16z) may lead the new funding round. Early SpaceX investors included Founders Fund, Sequoia, Gigafund and more.
A16z also participated in Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, a $44 billion deal that closed at the end of October 2022.
SpaceX and a16z did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last year, SpaceX achieved several new milestones but faced delays in the Starship program, which is part of NASA’s efforts to return astronauts to the moon.
On the other hand, the company’s Internet service, Starlink, has more than 1 million and has been a lifesaver for users in Ukraine who suffered infrastructure disruptions after Russia’s invasion. SpaceX has completed more than 60 reusable rocket launches in a year through the Falcon program.
The company currently continues to develop the Starship and Super Heavy launch vehicles at the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. It is not clear when the company will move to the next phase of the program, which will require orbital launch tests of these larger vehicles.
As Musk has repeatedly sounded off about geopolitical issues on Twitter, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently asked SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell if it could affect SpaceX’s work with ‘the space agency’s “distraction” as the new owner and CEO of Twitter, according to NBC News. Nelson said Shotwell assured him he would not.
NASA is now considering whether SpaceX can help rescue the residents of the International Space Station, including astronauts and two cosmonauts with Russia’s Roscomos, according to CNET. Russia’s Soyuz capsule suffered a cold leak in December, and an investigation is underway to determine if the spacecraft can safely return the crew or if emergency measures are needed.
