evidence: The Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket that’s designed to launch satellites, and eventually crewed spacecraft, into orbit. It stands 69.9m tall, weighs 549,054kg, and generates 7,607 kilonewtons of thrust at take-off, which can send 22,800kg into orbit around the Earth. Alternatively, it could send 8,300kg to Mars, although it hasn’t launched anything to the Red Planet just yet. Nonetheless, Mars is SpaceX’s ultimate goal – Elon Musk has made no secret of the fact that he wants to be the one to land humans on our planetary neighbour. In the meantime, SpaceX has more than 40 Falcon 9 missions into Earth orbit. The rocket made history in 2012 when it became the first privately launched vehicle to successfully send a resupply mission to the International Space Station, and has since added reusability to its roster. This marks another step towards SpaceX’s goal of sending humans into orbit from American soil, something the world hasn’t seen since the Space Shuttle’s final flight in 2011. But it’s not just about NASA missions for the moment. SpaceX’s launch manifest shows a diverse roster of clients including the US Air Force, national security missions, and commercial satellite launches. All in all, SpaceX is positioning itself to be a leading force as we enter the new era of commercial spaceflight.