SpaceX reveals plans for what could be the biggest-ever IPO

SpaceX launches 'Cygnus XL' cargo spacecraft

More than 11,000 pounds of scientific research and cargo were launched to the International Space Station aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft as part of the company’s Commercial Resupply Services-24 mission. The spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

NEW YORK - SpaceX on Wednesday submitted documents to move forward with its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO).

SpaceX moves forward with IPO

Big picture view:

The company, led by CEO Elon Musk, has grown into the world's largest space business and is expected to become the first U.S. company to go public with a market value of more than $1 trillion at the time of its IPO.

According to the documents filed, Elon Musk’s SpaceX lost $2.6 billion from operations last year on $18.7 billion in revenue, and the losses kept piling up at the start of this year, too.

Still, the initial public offering is expected to rank among the largest ever, possibly surpassing the current title holder, Saudi Aramco, the oil giant that went public seven years ago.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) weather satellite Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U (GOES-U) lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florid

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By the numbers:

The prospectus did not put a dollar figure on the amount Musk hoped to raise but various reports have put it at $75 billion or so, according to The Associated Press. SpaceX could be valued at roughly $1.75 trillion when it debuts. 

The initial offering could also make Musk, a major holder of SpaceX equity, the world’s first trillionaire.

SpaceX acquires xAI

The backstory:

Musk’s rocket and satellite company was expected to go public in June in one of the biggest Wall Street events of the year. Investment banks are lining up to fund Musk’s ambitions to set up a base on the moon, put data centers the size of several football fields in orbit, and possibly one day send a man to Mars.

Founded in 2002, SpaceX has soared to the top of the industry, accounting for more than 80% of rocket launches worldwide last year, according to Fortune. It has more than 10,000 Starlink satellites in orbit. 

SpaceX recently acquired another startup founded by Musk in xAI, which is focused on developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The company's IPO filing notes that the xAI unit still loses money, though AI will be pivotal to the company's future and it's collaborating with another Musk firm, Tesla, on an advanced chip manufacturing facility. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.