To prove it is safe for astronauts, the company tested its Crew Dragon capsule’s rescue system.
The CST-100 Starliner astronaut capsule was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, but an automated timer error prevented the spacecraft from attaining the orbit.
The case stems from a public quarrel between Musk and Unsworth, who gained fame for his leading role in coordinating the successful rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand in July 2018.
At the unveiling of the all-electric battery-powered Cybertruck, Tesla co-founder Elon Musk dared an assistant to throw a steel ball bearing at the vehicle - only to see the armoured glass smash. A second such attempt produced even worse result.
The company raised $486.2 million in an equity offering, starting December, and another $535.7 million in an offering that began in April, its regulatory filings on Friday showed.
The launch came a week after two back-to-back countdowns for the mission were scrubbed - once due to high winds over the Cape and the next night in order to update satellite software and "triple-check" all systems.
Falcon Heavy carried a communications satellite for Saudi-based telecom firm Arabsat, which will beam internet and television services over Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Live footage from NASA showed the capsule's four main parachutes opened without a hitch, and it splashed down at 8:45 am (1345 GMT).
The Elon Musk founded company is using the flight as a test, before it plans to put two astronauts on board later this year.
The only passenger was a life-size test dummy, named Ripley after the lead character in the "Alien" movies. SpaceX needs to nail the debut of its crew Dragon capsule before putting people on board later this year.
The 585-kilogram Beresheet, which means 'Genesis' in Hebrew, lifted off at 8:45 pm (0145 GMT Friday) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the private US-based SpaceX company of entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The company said it will “part ways” with some of its manpower, citing “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead.”
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