What SpaceX will buy with $2bn in US government funds

SpaceX is considering buying up to two-thirds of US-based spaceflight company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) for as much as $2 billion, as it prepares to launch its Dragon spacecraft into orbit, Bloomberg reported.

The company has not yet disclosed the value of the deal, but said in a statement to the Financial Times that it has “been exploring strategic alternatives for years” to buy up to “about half of the company’s outstanding stock.”

It added that the two-pronged strategy would “help accelerate the company in the long-term,” by “expanding our capabilities to address critical space transportation and commercial opportunities” and “providing access to the International Space Station for our employees.”

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in May that he planned to sell his stake in the company to “pay for the costs of bringing Dragon to orbit, which could be up to $500 million.”

The purchase would mark the second time in less than a year that SpaceX has sold stock, after the company announced in April that it had sold its remaining 20 percent stake in its Falcon 9 rocket.

In the wake of the announcement, Musk wrote on Twitter that “I’m not the only one who feels like I’m being treated badly.”

“This deal will provide a strong foundation for our future, including enabling us to scale up our current efforts and build out a strong and growing infrastructure for future exploration, including the Commercial Crew Program,” he wrote.

“We’re in the early stages of building the spaceship and are looking forward to sharing more soon.”

Spacex’s Falcon 9 rockets have been carrying cargo to the space station since 2005, and have carried two crew members to and from the orbiting outpost since the early 2020s.

In August, the company launched a pair of cargo-carrying missions into space from Florida, after a series of successful tests of the Falcon 9’s first stage engine.