Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Gwynne Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002, back when it was just a small company with only seven people. She started as Vice President of Business Development. Now, she is the President and Chief Operating Officer. She also sits on the board of directors. Since the beginning, she has been in charge of daily operations, customer relationships, and making sure the company grows in the right direction.
One of the first big things Gwynne Shotwell did was bring in major contracts. She helped SpaceX win its first important contract with NASA. This deal was called the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services agreement. It helped SpaceX get money and trust from the government to send supplies to the International Space Station. In 2008, she led the deal for another contract with the NASA. This one was worth 1.6 billion dollars and required SpaceX to make at least twelve supply trips to the space station.
In 2013, the NASA praised this deal. Gwynne Shotwell said it was a big success because it helped prepare the way for sending American astronauts to space again from American soil. That goal was reached in 2020, when SpaceX sent astronauts into space using its Crew Dragon capsule. Gwynne Shotwell thanked the NASA for trusting SpaceX and giving them the chance to prove themselves.
She also made sure that SpaceX didn’t just rely on government deals. She closed a 492 million dollar contract with a company called Iridium in 2010. This was the largest private launch contract at that time. Iridium asked SpaceX to launch a full set of new satellites into orbit. With this contract, Iridium became SpaceX’s biggest private customer.
Gwynne Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002, back when it was just a small company with only seven people. She started as Vice President of Business Development. Now, she is the President and Chief Operating Officer. She also sits on the board of directors. Since the beginning, she has been in charge of daily operations, customer relationships, and making sure the company grows in the right direction.
One of the first big things Gwynne Shotwell did was bring in major contracts. She helped SpaceX win its first important contract with NASA. This deal was called the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services agreement. It helped SpaceX get money and trust from the government to send supplies to the International Space Station. In 2008, she led the deal for another contract with the NASA. This one was worth 1.6 billion dollars and required SpaceX to make at least twelve supply trips to the space station.
In 2013, the NASA praised this deal. Gwynne Shotwell said it was a big success because it helped prepare the way for sending American astronauts to space again from American soil. That goal was reached in 2020, when SpaceX sent astronauts into space using its Crew Dragon capsule. Gwynne Shotwell thanked the NASA for trusting SpaceX and giving them the chance to prove themselves.
She also made sure that SpaceX didn’t just rely on government deals. She closed a 492 million dollar contract with a company called Iridium in 2010. This was the largest private launch contract at that time. Iridium asked SpaceX to launch a full set of new satellites into orbit. With this contract, Iridium became SpaceX’s biggest private customer.
