SpaceX’s first employee reflects on building rockets with Elon Musk
The BBC's Michelle Fleury spoke to Tom Mueller, who was one of the company's founders alongside Elon Musk in 2002.
By BBC News
Tom Mueller, one of SpaceX’s earliest figures, has spoken about joining Elon Musk’s rocket company in 2002 and helping build the technology that changed commercial spaceflight.
One of SpaceX’s earliest employees has reflected on the company’s early days and the technology that helped turn it from an ambitious start-up into one of the world’s most important space businesses.
Tom Mueller, an aerospace engineer and propulsion specialist, joined SpaceX in 2002 and became one of the key figures behind the company’s rocket engine development.
Speaking to the BBC, Mueller described being “employee number one” at SpaceX and recalled working alongside Elon Musk at a time when the company was trying to prove that private spaceflight could be done differently.
Mueller had already built a reputation in rocket propulsion before joining SpaceX. He later became closely associated with the company’s early engines and propulsion systems, including work linked to Falcon rockets and the Dragon spacecraft.
His role was significant because propulsion is one of the hardest and most expensive parts of building a rocket company. Without reliable engines, ambitious launch plans remain only drawings and promises.
SpaceX was founded with the aim of lowering the cost of access to space. At the time, the idea that a private company could compete in orbital launches was still viewed with scepticism by many in the traditional aerospace industry.
The company’s early years were difficult, with failed launches, tight funding and major technical pressure. But SpaceX eventually became the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station and later built Falcon 9 into one of the most widely used rockets in the world.
Mueller’s career shows how much of SpaceX’s success depended not only on vision and money, but also on deep engineering experience.
He worked on propulsion systems for Falcon 1, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon, according to Impulse Space, the company he later founded.
After leaving SpaceX, Mueller set up Impulse Space in 2021. The business focuses on in-space mobility, which means moving satellites and payloads after they have already reached orbit.
That is becoming an increasingly important part of the space economy. As launches become more frequent and cheaper, companies also need better ways to move equipment between orbits, support satellites, and prepare for activity around the Moon and beyond.
Impulse Space says Mueller’s new focus is on solving what happens after launch — moving payloads around space reliably, affordably and at scale.
For the wider technology and business world, Mueller’s story is a reminder that major breakthroughs often come from combining bold commercial ambition with specialist technical talent.
SpaceX is now closely associated with Elon Musk, but its rise also depended on engineers and early employees who took enormous risks in the company’s first years.
Mueller’s account also highlights a wider shift in space activity. What was once dominated by national agencies and large defence contractors is now a faster-moving commercial industry, with private companies competing to build rockets, satellites, launch services and orbital infrastructure.
That matters beyond space exploration. Satellite technology supports weather forecasting, communications, navigation, mapping, emergency response and parts of the modern digital economy.
As the commercial space race develops, the people who helped build the first generation of private rocket companies are now creating new businesses around the next stage of the market.
For Mueller, the mission has moved from getting rockets into orbit to making space itself more usable.