Shares of SpaceX (SPCX +7.18%) surged on Friday after the rocket and satellite technology leader made its stock market debut.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

An epic IPO

SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) was perhaps the most highly anticipated trading event of the year. The Elon Musk-led space exploration company sought to raise a whopping $75 billion dollars to fund its audacious growth initiatives, which include placing data centers in low Earth orbit, building a city on the Moon, and, eventually, establishing a colony on Mars.

To raise that hefty sum, SpaceX sold more than 555 million shares of its stock to investors at an IPO price of $135 per share. Yet demand for the space titan's stock was through the roof, vastly exceeding supply.

SpaceX's stock price, in turn, opened at $150 per share when it debuted on the Nasdaq on Friday. It quickly rose as high as $176.52 before ending the trading day at $160.95. That closing price placed its market capitalization at a stunning $2.1 trillion.

Investors should brace for volatility

While SpaceX's long-term plans are straight out of a sci-fi movie, its near-term goals will also require impressive technological execution. The space explorer intends to expand its popular Starlink satellite-based internet service, advance its aggressive rocket development timelines, and further its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure build-out.

In the coming days and weeks, shareholders should expect SpaceX's stock price to move violently in both directions, as investors react to what are likely to be breathtaking successes and heartbreaking failures as we embark on this space odyssey.

Longer term, SpaceX could reach unimaginable heights if it can fulfill its awesome growth potential.