Chapter 62: Inspiration4: SpaceX, September 2021

SpaceX faces a make-or-break fourth launch attempt in September 2008 after three consecutive failures nearly bankrupted the company. With a $20 million rescue investment from PayPal co-founders and a dramatic six-week deadline to repair a rocket damaged during transport to Kwaj, Musk's team pulls off an against-the-odds success, becoming the first private company to reach orbit and securing a $1.6 billion NASA contract.

In 2008, SpaceX was on the brink of collapse following three failed Falcon 1 launches and Tesla's financial crisis. Musk's former PayPal co-founders—Peter Thiel, Luke Nosek, and Ken Howery—invested $20 million through Founders Fund, with Thiel motivated partly by mending the relationship fractured during Musk's 2000 ouster as CEO. Facing rapid cash burn, Musk imposed an aggressive six-week deadline to launch a fourth rocket from Kwajalein Atoll. SpaceX chartered a military C-17 transport plane to avoid the four-week sea shipping delay. En route to Hawaii, a rapid descent caused the rocket's pressurization system to fail, nearly crushing the vehicle like a can. Engineers, including Bülent Altan and Trip Harriss, improvised fixes—opening valves and equalizing pressure—while the pilots ascended despite fuel constraints. Musk ordered the damaged rocket delivered to Kwaj for repairs rather than aborted. At the launch site, Tim Buzza negotiated a choice: follow new quality-control procedures taking five weeks, or accelerate to five days with reduced oversight. Musk chose speed. Under the gaze of a three-foot coconut crab the team named Elon, they completed repairs in time. On September 28, 2008, Musk watched from SpaceX headquarters (after a calming visit to Disneyland with Kimbal and their children) as Falcon 1 successfully reached orbit, marking the first privately built rocket to do so. The triumph prompted NASA to award SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract for cargo missions to the International Space Station. Musk appointed Gwynne Shotwell as SpaceX president to handle business and government relations while he focused on engineering.