There is no doubt that 2024 was a good year for SpaceX. The Elon Musk-helmed company became the most valuable private company in the world (worth $350 billion), broke its annual launch record and made significant progress in building a rocket of unprecedented size and power. Given Musk's relationship with the incoming Trump administration, SpaceX will likely benefit from a friendly corporate face with lucrative government contracts and relaxed regulations.
Here's a look at what to expect from the aerospace industry in 2025:
Advances in Starship testing
SpaceX is currently allowed to conduct five Starship tests per year. By 2025, the company aims to increase this number to 25, according to an environmental assessment study released by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month.
Regular test launches are “essential” during the early stages of the Starship program, according to the FAA document. The proposed SpaceX experiment would be launched from the “Starbase” site in Boca Chica, Texas and land in the same place or splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean or Indian Ocean. SpaceX has made six Starship test flights starting in 2022. During its most recent test in October, the company achieved a major breakthrough when it successfully landed Starship's Super Heavy booster on Earth.
SpaceX's ultimate goal is to retrieve the Starship's upper capsule. Musk wants to “have 25 [Starship] missions a year—and in the next few years, 100,” said Kathy Lueders, general manager of SpaceX's Boca Chica operations, during a conference in November. “One day he was telling me, Kathy, I'd like to present a few times a day,” he added.
Starlink's revenue continues to rise
SpaceX's Starlink business is expected to generate $11.8 billion in revenue next year, according to market research firm Quilty Space—up from $7.7 billion in 2024. More than $7 billion will come from consumer services, while $1.3 billion could come from hardware sales. and another $3 billion in government contracts.
SpaceX has launched nearly 7,000 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit and is reportedly seeking approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to send another 30,000 satellites in the future.
This desire is likely to be met with pushback, given environmental concerns surrounding low-Earth orbit populated by satellites. In October, a letter signed by 100 space researchers asked the FCC to temporarily suspend satellite launches to test the environment for its damage in space.
Starbase could be a city
Starbase, where SpaceX develops and tests rockets, is already home to hundreds of SpaceX employees. Next year, the company is looking to make it an official company town of only 1.5 square miles and built mainly for its employees. SpaceX employees recently filed a petition to elect officials such as the first mayor of Starbase, as reported by the New York Times, noting that the new city will contain about 500 people.
“In order to continue to grow the workforce needed to develop and make Starship faster, we need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” said SpaceX's Lueders in a letter accompanying the request, where he noted that SpaceX already does a lot of community work at Starbase as a road. managing and providing schools for residents. “The coordination of activities will transfer the management of some of these activities to the appropriate public organization,” he said.
SpaceX-friendly federal policies
Musk has long been at odds with federal regulators like the FAA, which he often criticizes for delaying SpaceX's progress. This could change under the Trump administration due to Musk's close relationship with the incoming President.
Musk himself has been given unprecedented political influence and will lead the newly created Department of Public Works to reduce government spending. The billionaire also reportedly asked Trump to bring some of his SpaceX employees into the federal fold and hire them as government officials—something that will no doubt benefit SpaceX as it battles for multibillion-dollar NASA contracts.
Musk's partner has already been tapped by Trump to become NASA administrator. Jared Isaacman, chief executive of payments processing company Shift4 Payments, was appointed to the role in early December. A private astronaut who has flown twice with SpaceX, Isaacman's vision for the facility is expected to advance the commercial space industry.
