Elon Musk’s SpaceX has spent over $15 billion developing its next-generation Starship rocket to take humans to the moon, Mars and build a whole new batch of space data centers.
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Starship Spend Hits $15B
According to a report on Reuters, which has seen SpaceX’s IPO registration document, the huge sum, which has not been previously reported, outpaces the roughly $400 million SpaceX spent developing its current Falcon 9 rocket.
“We have continued to invest significantly in further increasing our lead by pursuing full and rapid reusability at scale, including investing over $15 billion in our next-generation rocket, Starship,” SpaceX said.
Starship, a two-stage rocket system, really needs to succeed because SpaceX’s upcoming IPO, where it is set to be valued at $1.75 trillion, rests largely on it being built. It will help Musk meet his ambitions of launching larger batches of Starlink satellites, taking humans to the moon and Mars, and deploying artificial intelligence computing satellites as an alternative to power-hungry data centers back on Earth.
Orbit Refueling Challenge
The company aims to begin launching its latest generation of Starlink satellites known as V3, in the second half of 2026, according to the filing. That is likely to be on Starship, whose payload bay was tailored for the upgraded satellites and can fit up to 60 of them in a single flight, SpaceX said in the filing.
Since 2023, SpaceX has conducted 11 Starship test flights. However, hurdles remain in its development before Starship can reach Musk’s goal of “thousands of launches per year.” One challenge is in-orbit refueling, a risky and unproven process in which Starships dock with tanker versions of the vehicle to transfer fuel.
“In-orbit refueling is complex, and we have not yet demonstrated or attempted it,” SpaceX said. “We may not be able to develop, commercialize, scale, or successfully implement these or other strategic initiatives on the timelines we currently anticipate, or at all.”
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