SpaceX is the short name for the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation based in California. This space transport company was founded by Elon Musk in 2002.

Musk was born in South Africa in 1971, but is now an American citizen. He is an engineer and businessman, and before the SpaceX venture he was best known for founding the company which eventually became Paypal, the internet transaction service.

As a young man, Musk claims he always wanted to help humanity in three main areas: the internet, clean energy sources and space technology. With SpaceX he has achieved the second of these three goals. The third, clean energy, is being helped by another company founded by Musk, Tesla motors, which builds electric cars for the luxury market.

The SpaceX company's first spacecraft is called Dragon, and Musk was the chief engineer on this and other projects.