MW Rescue of stranded astronauts is a win for Musk. This fund offers a ride on the SpaceX roller coaster.

By James Rogers

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finally returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule

When the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida on Tuesday, it ended a nine-month saga that began as what was supposed to be an eight-day stint on the International Space Station.

The Boeing Co. $(BA)$ Starliner capsule that transported the astronauts to the orbiting space lab in June was beset by technical problems, prompting NASA to extend their stay on the ISS and eventually hitch a ride home with rival SpaceX. The Starliner spacecraft in question returned to Earth crewless in August.

Related: Elon Musk discovers 'magic money computers,' or how the U.S. financial system actually works

The safe return of Wilmore and Williams marked a victory for SpaceX founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk and capped an eventful few months for his private space company. While SpaceX's recent seventh and eighth Starship flight tests ended in explosions, in January the company hit a milestone when it nailed its 400th reusable-rocket landing. SpaceX has made 33 launches so far this year, including the two Starship tests, after booking more than 130 launches in 2024, which included four tests of the Starship megarocket and spacecraft.

SpaceX is also seen as a major beneficiary of President Donald Trump's bold U.S. space ambitions, not to mention Musk's close ties to the White House.

Related: Boeing's Starliner launches on historic first crewed flight

While SpaceX is not a publicly traded stock, it is the top holding in the publicly traded Destiny Tech100 Inc. fund DXYZ, which offers investors exposure to high-profile private companies. SpaceX accounted for 36.9% of the Destiny Tech100, as Sept. 30, 2024. The fund's next-largest holding is fintech Revolut at 12.2%, followed by private space company Axiom Space at 5.9% and ChatGPT creator OpenAI at 5.1%.

While the fund has fallen 35.8% in 2025, it has still gained 319.8% in the last 12 months - most notably when it soared in the wake of Trump's November election victory and, to an extent, after his inauguration earlier this year. For comparison, shares of Musk's Tesla Inc. $(TSLA)$ have fallen 44.2% in 2025 and are up 29.6% in the last 12 months.

Related: Boeing has recorded $1.5 billion of Starliner forward losses, says Jefferies

The Destiny Tech100, which ended Tuesday's session down 3.1%, is up 2.8% in premarket trades.

Along with Wilmore and Williams, the Crew Dragon spacecraft also transported NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov back to Earth.

-James Rogers

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March 19, 2025 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

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