SpaceX vs Blue Origin: the numbers side by side
SpaceX vs Blue Origin in 2026: how do they compare? As of Nov 10, 2026, SpaceX has flown 122 Falcon launches in 2026 (119 Falcon 9, 3 Falcon Heavy) plus 3 Starship flights, while Blue Origin has flown 1 New Glenn launch and 1 New Shepard suborbital flight, by our launch records. SpaceX is public (NASDAQ: SPCX, market value $1.93T at the last close in our data); Blue Origin is private.
Every key figure in one table (launches, reusability, payload, constellations, crew, NASA contracts, funding and valuation), with the money figures pulled live.
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| Metric | SpaceX | Blue Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 | 2000 |
| Founder | Elon Musk | Jeff Bezos |
| Headquarters | Starbase, TX | Kent, WA |
| Employees | Over 22,000 full-time, company-wide (Mar 31, 2026) | Not disclosed (private) |
| Private funding on record | $8.7B raised privately before listing | No private funding figure on record |
| Valuation | ~$1.93T market cap (NASDAQ: SPCX) | Private (est. $140.0B) |
| Primary Vehicle | Falcon 9 / Starship | New Glenn / New Shepard |
| Orbital Launches (Career) | Falcon 9: 692 and Falcon Heavy: 14, through Oct 10, 2026; plus Starship's first orbital flight (Sep 28, 2026) | 3 New Glenn flights: 2 successes (Jan & Nov 2025), 1 failure (Apr 2026), through Oct 10, 2026 |
| Reusability | Falcon 9: over 570 booster landings (Mar 31, 2026); one booster has flown 35 times (Jun 2026) | New Glenn booster landed on NG-2 (Nov 2025) and landed again after reflying on NG-3 (Apr 2026); one New Shepard booster flew 17 times |
| LEO Payload Capacity | 22,800 kg (F9) / 100+ t (Starship design figure, fully reusable; in flight testing) | 45,000 kg (New Glenn) |
| Constellation | Starlink (11,102 satellites in orbit, Aug 27, 2026) | Amazon Leo (formerly Kuiper, an Amazon project, not Blue Origin's): 3,232 satellites authorized; launched so far on Atlas V, Falcon 9 and Ariane 6, with Vulcan and New Glenn launches booked |
| Crewed Missions | Crew Dragon: 21 crewed orbital flights (Demo-2, May 2020, to Crew-13, Oct 1, 2026) | New Shepard: 17 crewed suborbital flights (Jul 2021 to Jan 2026); paused since Jan 30, 2026 for at least two years |
| NASA Contracts | Artemis lunar lander (HLS), ISS cargo (CRS) and crew transport | Artemis V lunar lander (Blue Moon, $3.4B award value, May 2023); launched NASA's ESCAPADE (Nov 2025) |
| Revenue Model | Connectivity segment, primarily Starlink: $11.39B of $18.67B total revenue in 2025; plus launch (Space segment) and AI (xAI, acquired Feb 2026) | Launch services, BE-4 engines (two power each ULA Vulcan), booked Amazon Leo launches, Blue Moon lander; financials not disclosed |
| Public/Private | Public (NASDAQ: SPCX, IPO June 2026) | Private |
Figures as of Sep 4, 2026 (auto-updated daily from company profiles). Information only, not investment advice. Full disclaimer
Key Differences
SpaceX has flown 692 Falcon 9 and 14 Falcon Heavy launches through October 10, 2026, and its Connectivity segment, primarily Starlink, brought in $11.4 billion of revenue in 2025. Blue Origin, founded two years earlier, reached orbit for the first time with New Glenn in January 2025, landed a booster on its second flight that November, and on its third flight in April 2026 reflew that booster but left its payload in too low an orbit. A New Glenn then exploded during a May 2026 static fire, damaging its only working pad; Blue Origin aims to fly again before the end of 2026. BE-4 engines power ULA's Vulcan as well as New Glenn, and the Blue Moon lander is Blue Origin's NASA Artemis contract.
SpaceX calls Starship the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed; it is still in flight testing and reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14, September 28, 2026. Both companies are tied to LEO broadband constellations: SpaceX owns Starlink, while Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) belongs to Amazon, a separate company from Blue Origin, and has booked launches on New Glenn among other rockets.
Sources (checked 11 Oct 2026)
- SpaceX founding (Mar 14, 2002), Starbase HQ, over 22,000 full-time employees (Mar 31, 2026), 2025 revenue by segment, over 570 Falcon 9 landings, xAI acquisition, Nasdaq SPCX: SpaceX prospectus (Form 424B4, SEC), Jun 2026
- Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, New Glenn, Starship, Crew Dragon and New Shepard flight records; Amazon Leo launches by rocket: GCAT launch log (Jonathan McDowell), updated 11 Oct 2026
- Falcon 9 payload 22,800 kg to LEO: SpaceX, Oct 2026
- Falcon 9 booster B1067 flies its 35th mission: Spaceflight Now, Jun 2026
- Starship 100+ t design payload, most powerful launch vehicle: SpaceX, Oct 2026
- Blue Origin founded in 2000 in Kent, WA, owned by Jeff Bezos: Kent Reporter, Sep 2019
- New Glenn 45 t to LEO: Blue Origin (archived page), Jun 2026
- NG-3: reflown NG-2 booster lands on Jacklyn; BlueBird 7 in a lower orbit: , Apr 2026
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