The Rocket Company That Had One Launch Left | The Why Behind SpaceX

In 2008, SpaceX had three failed rockets and money for one more launch. Eighteen years later, it raised around $75 billion in the largest IPO in history and put the biggest rocket ever built into orbit. This is the story of how a start-up that almost ran out of money ended up launching more rockets than anyone else on Earth, and the simple question that made it possible: why is a rocket so expensive? Chapters 0:00 One launch left 0:57 The spreadsheet 2:36 Three failures 4:07 The fourth launch 5:08 Landing a rocket 6:37 Astronauts 7:28 Starlink: the money machine 8:45 SpaceX today 10:00 The why behind SpaceX Archive footage courtesy of NASA. NASA does not endorse this channel or video. Historic photos: Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / public domain): "Falcon 1 Flight 4 launch", "2009 Falcon 1 launches from Omelek Island", "ORBCOMM-2", "Falcon 9 first stage at LZ-1 (two)", "SpaceX Falcon 9 Flight 1 launch" (NASA TV). Stock footage and music: Storyblocks. Animations and graphics: The Why Behind (illustrations, not real footage). Narration voice is synthetic. This channel is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by SpaceX, NASA or any company mentioned. Nothing in this video is investment advice. Sources Wikipedia: SpaceX – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX Space.com: Falcon 1 reaches orbit (2008) – https://www.space.com/5905-spacex-suc... Scientific American: Falcon 1 flight 3 payload – https://www.scientificamerican.com/bl... Northwestern Magazine: Gwynne Shotwell – https://www.northwestern.edu/magazine... Wikipedia: SpaceX CRS-8 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_... Space.com: SpaceX launch record 2025 – https://space.com/space-exploration/p... Advanced Television: SpaceX IPO prospectus – https://www.advanced-television.com/?... IPO Club: SpaceX IPO – https://www.ipo.club/deals/spacex Quartz: Starship Flight 14 – https://qz.com/spacex-starship-flight... Space.com: Starship deploys satellites – https://www.space.com/space-explorati... CNBC via NBC Washington: Musk on a multi-planet species – https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/bu... The Why Behind: the stories behind the world's biggest brands. Subscribe for a new deep-dive every week. #SpaceX #Business #TheWhyBehind