From 'Do or Die' To Domination: Kimbal Musk Recalls SpaceX's Early Struggles

Elon Musk‘s brother Kimbal Musk on Sunday recounted one of the hardest moments for his brother’s rocket manufacturing company SpaceX from before its first successful flight.

What Happened: In an interview with Lex Fridman published on Sunday, Kimbal zeroed in on SpaceX’s second launch failure from Omelek island before 2008 as the hardest moment for the company.

While Musk had done financially well on selling PayPal, the money went quickly with the rocket venture, making every launch a “do or die” moment, Kimbal said.

When the second launch attempt failed, the entire team was disappointed. “It was so depressing,” Kimbal recounted. He also recounted how he cooked up a meal of baked beans following the launch failure at the military base when the whole team at the company was upset.

SpaceX attempted its first launch in 2006. The first successful launch, however, came in the second half of 2008 after two more failed attempts. 

"If the fourth one had not succeeded, SpaceX would not exist. It was a very close call," Musk said during Viva Tech conference 2023 in France.

Why It Matters: SpaceX has launched 319 times in total thus far. In 2023, SpaceX completed 96 launches, marking a remarkable 57% year-on-year increase. The company's launch numbers have been steadily increasing, with 26 launches in 2020, 31 in 2021, and 61 in 2022.

For 2024, the company has ambitious plans of 144 launches, equivalent to 12 launches per month. 

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