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Gwynne Shotwell

Gwynne Shotwell

President and Chief Operating Officer, SpaceX

Appears in 5 stories

Notable Quotes

We needed to make space access affordable for the people who had been locked out of it.

"SpaceX has approximately $15 billion in NASA contracts." β€” Statement on government business

Stories

SpaceX prices the largest IPO in history

Money Moves

Identified in S-1 as a key executive

SpaceX began trading June 12 on Nasdaq under ticker SPCX, the largest IPO by money raised. The company sold 555.6 million shares at $135 each, raising $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation. Retail orders alone exceeded $100 billion, so SpaceX cut individual buyers' allocation from roughly 30% of the offering to the low 20s.

Updated 5 days ago

Commercial rideshare reshapes access to orbit

Built World

Oversees commercial launch operations, including the Transporter and Bandwagon rideshare programs

For most of the space age, putting a satellite into orbit meant booking an entire rocketβ€”an option available only to governments and the largest companies. SpaceX's rideshare program inverted that model: pay by the kilogram, share the ride, and launch on a schedule set by the operator, not the customer.

Updated May 31

SpaceX Starlink becomes a weapon in Ukraine war

Force in Play

Key decision-maker in Starlink military policy

Ukraine's military has depended on Starlink satellite internet since the first week of Russia's 2022 invasion. On February 5, 2026, SpaceX cut off Russian forces from that network, collapsing command systems and halving daily assault operations within hours.

Updated May 27

Musk merges SpaceX and xAI in record-breaking deal

Money Moves

Overseeing day-to-day operations during merger integration

In February 2026, SpaceX bought xAI for $250 billion, the largest acquisition in corporate history. By mid-May, all 11 original xAI co-founders had left, and more than 50 SpaceXAI researchers and engineers had departed for Meta and Thinking Machines Lab.

Updated May 26

SpaceX flies upgraded Starship V3 for the first time

New Capabilities

Running day-to-day operations through the IPO process

SpaceX scrubbed the first V3 launch attempt on May 21 when a hydraulic pin on the launch tower arm failed to retract at T-40 seconds. The company repaired the fault overnight and rescheduled the debut of Booster 19 and Ship 39 for May 22 from Starbase Pad 2.

Updated May 22