Resolution criteria

This market will resolve to YES if SpaceX successfully launches at least one non-SpaceX payload on a Starship mission before January 1, 2030 (UTC). Otherwise, this market will resolve to NO.

For the purposes of this market, the following definitions and rules apply:

• Non-SpaceX Payload: Any active, functional payload—including commercial or government satellites, deep-space probes, space station modules, or scientific instruments—that is owned, operated, or primary-contracted by an entity other than SpaceX (such as NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, a foreign space agency, a university, or a third-party commercial operator).

• Crewed & Lunar Missions:

  • If the payload is a starship or SpaceX built crew vehicle, it counts as a SpaceX payload, even NASA Astronauts are aboard.

• Exclusions:

  • Mass simulators, boilerplate test vehicles, and inert dummy payloads do not count.

  • Internal SpaceX payloads—including Starlink satellites, SpaceX-developed tech demonstration satellites, or any future SpaceX-owned telecommunication or orbital compute hardware—do not count.

• Successful Launch: The Starship vehicle (Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage) must lift off and successfully deploy the third-party payload into its targeted orbit or transit trajectory, or successfully deliver the third-party crew/cargo to its destination. If the payload itself fails to function after a successful deployment, the launch still counts.

Verification Sources: Resolutions will be verified using official announcements from SpaceX, NASA, or reports from reputable aerospace news organizations such as SpaceNews, Spaceflight Now, or Jonathan's Space Report.

Background

Starship is SpaceX's fully reusable, super heavy-lift rocket system designed to carry massive payloads to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. As of June 2026, SpaceX has conducted 12 integrated flight tests of the Starship system, with the most recent (Flight 12) taking place on May 22, 2026.

To date, Starship flights have only carried inert mass simulators, developmental test packages, or internal Starlink dummy simulators. While SpaceX has signed a variety of external commercial launch agreements—including launches for the commercial Starlab space station and NASA's Artemis HLS lunar landings—it has not yet flown an active third-party payload. This market tracks whether SpaceX will successfully begin launching external, non-SpaceX payloads on Starship before 2030.