--- title: SpaceX Launch: Elon Musk and SpaceX's Biggest Milestones in Photos description: The private sector is racing for space, and Elon Musk's SpaceX is currently in the lead canonical: https://time.com/41166/spacex-launch-elon-musk-photos/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-14T11:40:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:08:31.288Z article:section: Science og:title: Take A Look Back At SpaceX's Biggest Milestones og:description: The private sector is racing for space, and Elon Musk's SpaceX is currently in the lead og:url: https://time.com/41166/spacex-launch-elon-musk-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf985bf107f346f55/69869564169ab0242f279acd/spacex-dragon-v2-spacecraft.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: On May 29, 2014, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk (not pictured) unveiled the company's first manned spacecraft, Dragon V2, at a press conference in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 29, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Take A Look Back At SpaceX's Biggest Milestones twitter:description: The private sector is racing for space, and Elon Musk's SpaceX is currently in the lead twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf985bf107f346f55/69869564169ab0242f279acd/spacex-dragon-v2-spacecraft.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # SpaceX: A Ticket to Ride > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Apr 14, 2014 11:40 AM UTC  On May 29, 2014, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk (not pictured) unveiled the company's first manned spacecraft, Dragon V2, at a press conference in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 29, 2014. On May 29, 2014, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk (not pictured) unveiled the company's first manned spacecraft, Dragon V2, at a press conference in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 29, 2014. SpaceX by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Apr 14, 2014 11:40 AM UTC  SpaceX embarked on its first deep space mission with the launch of this Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 11, 2015 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., after two previous failed attempts. Onboard is the Deep Space Climate Observatory, which will head 1 million miles from Earth to watch for incoming geomagnetic storms that could trigger power outages on our planet. John Raoux—AP  On May 29, 2014, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk (not pictured) unveiled the company's first manned spacecraft, Dragon V2, at a press conference in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 29, 2014. SpaceX  A rocket carrying the SpaceX Dragon ship lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on April 18, 2014. John Raoux—AP  Falcon 9 awaits its upcoming launch in SpaceX's hangar with landing legs attached on March 12, 2014. SpaceX  SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches with Thailand’s Thaicom 6 satellite aboard, on Jan. 6, 2014 from Cape Canaveral SpaceX  SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral, on Nov. 28, 2013. SpaceX  SpaceX's Falcon 9 rolls out of the hangar on Nov. 28, 2013. SpaceX  A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a small science satellite for Canada is launched from a newly refurbished launch pad in Vandenberg Air Force Station in California, on Sept. 29, 2013. Gene Blevins—Reuters  SpaceX's reusable rocket prototype, Grasshopper, completes a 1,066-ft. (325 meter) hop on June 14, 2013 before landing back on the pad. SpaceX  A SpaceX component preparing for testing in the world's largest vacuum chamber at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. SpaceX  SpaceX's Dragon on the recovery boat on April 13, 2013. NASA  SpaceX's Dragon is grappled by the International Space Station on April 13, 2013. NASA  SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket leaves the hangar at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 8, 2013. SpaceX  Nine Merlin engines for the inaugural Falcon 9 flight, ready to be installed in the booster, on March 8, 2013. SpaceX  From left: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk view the Dragon capsule that returned to Earth on May 31, 2012 following the first successful mission by a private company to carry supplies to the International Space Station, at the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas, on June 13, 2012. Bill Ingalls—NASA/Reuters  SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule floats in the Pacific Ocean off of Baja California on May 31, 2012. SpaceX/Reuters  SpaceX's Dragon commercial cargo craft is berthed to the International Space Station on May 25, 2012. NASA/Reuters  A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft blasts off from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, on May 22, 2012. Red Huber—MCT/Getty Images  The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on May 22, 2012. Pierre Ducharme—Reuters  SpaceX'S Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lift off from Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral, on Dec. 8, 2010. NASA—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  From left: President Barack Obama and Head of SpaceX Elon Musk tour Cape Canaveral, on April 15, 2010. Jim Young—Reuters  On April 22, 2008, Musk's company landed NASA's launch services contract for Falcon 1 and 9 rockets. Here, the SpaceX factory in Los Angeles is shown on Nov. 21, 2008. Dan Tuffs—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/41166/spacex-launch-elon-musk-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/41166/spacex-launch-elon-musk-photos/"},"headline":"SpaceX: A Ticket to Ride","datePublished":"2014-04-14T11:40:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:31.288Z","description":"The private sector is racing for space, and Elon Musk's SpaceX is currently in the lead. 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