Space X SpaceX ' s achievements include : On September 28 , 2008 , the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit . ( Falcon 1 ) On December 9 , 2010 , it is the first private sector company to launch a spacecraft into space , put it into orbit and successfully return that spacecraft ( Dragon ) to Earth . The first private sector company to send a spacecraft ( Dragon ) to the International Space Station on May 25 , 2012 . The first private company to perform a manned mission by sending Crew Dragon to the International Space Station on May 30 , 2020 . The most satellites moved by a single rocket launch on January 24 , 2021 . ( 143 satellites ) In November 2013 , French company Arianespace , the market leader in commercial launches , announced that it would go to flexible pricing for " lighter satellites " that it carried to geostatic Orbit with the Ariane 5 rocket , due to competition from SpaceX .