Elon musk spaceship series#

Starship could launch hundreds at a time, up from about 60 that can fit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.ĭespite its power and bigger size, the rocket system is intended to be cheaper than the Falcon 9, primarily because of its reusable design. Thousands more Starlink satellites are needed to complete the constellation. The company says the rocket will be crucial for launching the satellites for SpaceX’s satellite internet venture, Starlink. Starship is also poised to be the centerpiece of SpaceX’s revenue-generating launch business by flying satellites from commercial and government customers. Maezawa did not wait for SpaceX to make his first trip beyond Earth, flying aboard a Russian spacecraft in December 2021 for a 12-day stay on the International Space Station. That mission, announced for 2023, will almost certainly be delayed. Musk at SpaceX’s Southern California headquarters his intent to fly around the moon and back aboard Starship with eight fellow passengers. Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese billionaire and the founder of the clothing retailer Zozo, announced in 2018 with Mr. Government astronauts won’t be Starship’s only passengers. What else will Starship be able to do?Ī potentially lucrative portfolio of missions for SpaceX lies at the end of Starship’s development phase. That requires a spate of orbital refueling tests, with two Starships mating in orbit - a technically tricky and risky endeavor. SpaceX will have to first launch several “tanker” Starships to space to serve as gas stations for the ultimate moon-bound Starship, which will need extra fuel to land on and launch from the lunar surface. Is the rocket ready to fly?Īnd even before Starship gets to the moon, it will face unique complexities. If it does, that could delay the company’s progress by months or years. and other agencies will determine whether SpaceX’s Starship site needs a more thorough environmental review. Once the review process is complete and the public comments are considered, the F.A.A. But many members of the community also worry about the environmental and economic toll of such a major operation moving into their area. Some civic leaders welcome the job opportunities the launch site could bring to the area.

In the Brownsville region, SpaceX has faced a mix of enthusiastic support and daunting criticism. That delayed the review’s completion, which is expected on Feb. When the Federal Aviation Administration allowed the public to comment on a draft of its assessment in 2021, some 18,000 comments swarmed in, many from outside the region. Among SpaceX’s new plans for the area: starting a natural gas plant to source fuel for Starship, installing a solar farm, building parking lots, constructing payload processing facilities and conducting more test flights, which raise the likelihood of testing explosions that can send debris and forceful shock waves for miles. Musk says 2022 is the year Starship will get to orbit for the first time.īut those plans have changed and expanded drastically over the years with the advent of Starship, prompting a new environmental review.

Elon musk spaceship series#

After a series of premature announcements followed by delays, Mr. Testing of Starship prototypes has resulted in fiery failures leading up to a successful flight and landing in May 2021. Since 2019, the rocket has been steadily emerging as a silvery sentinel in stainless steel reflecting the sunlight of a South Texas launch site along the Gulf of Mexico. Starship is the next generation, designed as a gigantic and fully reusable rocket system that could cost less and fly more often. Since 2010, SpaceX has been flying Falcon 9, a rocket with a reusable booster that has become one of the most dominant launch vehicles in global spaceflight. Its success or failure may determine whether the company achieves his dreams.

Musk’s private space company, it is the future. It is called Starship, and for SpaceX, Mr. Elon Musk says it is “ the holy grail of space technology” and sees it as crucial to his ultimate goal of colonizing Mars. Astronomers, satellite companies and aspiring space tourists are eyeing its potential to drastically slash the cost of getting to space. The Pentagon wants to use it to whisk military cargo around the world in minutes. NASA wants to use it to land American astronauts on the moon.