SpaceX will become publicly traded on Friday after nearly two and a half decades as a private company. Executives are slated to ring the bell on Wall Street with the rocket ship maker’s historic stock market debut. If all goes to plan, the company’s initial public offering (IPO) will mint a valuation of $1.77tn – earning it the designation of the world’s largest ever IPO.

Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, has a large stake in the company as majority shareholder, so if investors’ enthusiasm validates the eye-popping valuation, he would take the title of the world’s first-ever trillionaire. Musk is also the CEO of Tesla, which is valued at $1.2tn.

SpaceX’s IPO comes in what is predicted to be a banner year for public…