SpaceX’s Elon Musk said Thursday that the first orbital flight of his towering Starship — the world's most powerful rocket ever built — could come in another month or two.
While he anticipates failures, he’s confident Starship will reach orbit by the end of this year.
Musk provided his first major Starship update in more than two years while standing alongside the 390-foot (119-meter) rocket at SpaceX's Texas spaceport. He urged the nighttime crowd, “Let’s make this real!”
“This is really some wild stuff here,” he said. “In fact, hard to believe it's real.”
NASA plans to use the fully reusable Starship to land astronauts on the moon as early as 2025. Musk, meanwhile, hopes to deploy a fleet of Starships to create a city on Mars, hauling equipment and people there.
For now, the initial flights would carry Musk's internet satellites, called Starlinks, into orbit.
“There will probably be a few bumps in the road, but we want to iron those out with satellite missions and test missions” before putting people on board, he said.
SpaceX's Super Heavy first-stage booster has yet to blast off. But the futuristic, bullet-shaped, steel Starship — perched on top and serving as the upper stage — successfully launched and landed on its own last May, following a series of spectacular explosions. The rocketship soared more than 6 miles (10 kilometers).
SpaceX is awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before proceeding with Starship's next phase: going into orbit. Musk said he expects the go-ahead in March and that the rocket should be ready to fly by then as well. That would put the launch in the next couple of months, he added.
If the FAA demands more information about potential environmental impacts or lawsuits emerge, Musk said Starship launches could move to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But that would delay the first orbital launch by more than half a year, he noted.
The full-size Starships are massive — taller than NASA's past and present moon rockets, with approximately double the liftoff thrust.
Besides Florida's Cape Canaveral and the southern tip of Texas near Boca Chica, Starships could ultimately launch from floating ocean platforms anywhere in the world, Musk said. He envisions Starships launching three times a day — “rapid reusability" — with refilling stations in space for the longer destinations like Mars. The first refilling test could happen by the end of next year, he said.
Musk estimates a Starship launch could wind up costing less than $10 million — maybe even just a few million dollars with a high flight rate, which would bring down prices. He called it “crazy low” and “ridiculously good” by current space standards.
Starship already has one private customer: a Japanese entrepreneur who has bought a flight around the moon and plans to take a dozen artists with him. Musk hinted there are others interested in buying trips, saying future announcements would be forthcoming.
Until now, SpaceX has relied on its much smaller Falcon rockets to launch satellites, as well as astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. Its first private flight, purchased by a billionaire, was last September. Another is coming up at the end of March, this one to the space station with three businessmen who are paying $55 million apiece.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Stocks closed higher Wednesday, with the Nasdaq making gains for the third day in a row despite this morning's CPI data showing inflation continues to run hot. The report showed that CPI ticked up to 7% in December, and while it was the biggest jump since 1982, the data was broadly in line with Wall Street's expectations. Mark Lehmann, CEO of JMP Securities, a Citizens Company, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss today's close, the Fed's proposed monetary tightening, and more.
As more and more consumers are experiencing empty shelves at their grocery stores, Phil Lempert, editor of SupermarketGuru.com, spoke with Cheddar's Ken Buffa to discuss the changes in the supply chain that have trickled down into our grocery stores. "It's really three major factors: number one is climate change, number two is labor, and number three is transportation," he explained. Lempert also called on people to shop with local, independent grocers, calling it "critical to our infrastructure."
CPI rose 7% from a year prior in December, showing that inflation has continued to increase at its fastest pace since June 1982. Consumers are feeling the pressure when it comes to food, apparel, and used car prices, but got some relief in December as energy prices ticked slightly lower month-over-month. How will this ongoing inflation streak impact U.S. monetary policy as the Federal Reserve says it's prepared to implement aggressive tactics like raising interest rates? John Leer, Chief Economist at Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss December's CPI data, what it means for consumers, how the Federal Reserve can help limit inflation, and more.
One startup is working to reverse climate change one seed at a time. Terraformation is a global forest accelerator that provides tools, training, financing, and business support to help scale forest restoration projects worldwide. Forests naturally absorb carbon and Terraformation says that reforestation is a safe, low-cost, and scalable solution to the climate crisis. Yee Lee, VP of growth at Terraformation, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Back in February 2021, Twitter announced its three-year plan to double development velocity, to reach 315 million monetizable users, and double its total annual revenue. Chief Customer Officer Sarah Personette, joined Cheddar to discuss where the social media giant stands now a year after the announcement. "The progress against all three of those pillars has been substantial, and we'll continue to drive that over the course of the next year and beyond," she said. Personette also discussed the leadership of Twitter's CEO Parag Agrawal who took over for founder Jack Dorsey late in 2021.
Tony Horton, fitness guru and creator of the famous P90X workout joins Cheddar News to discuss how people can stay focused and maintain fitness in the new year.
Meet Corrine Tan, American Girl’s 2022 Girl of the Year. Corrine is the first doll of Chinese descent from the company, debuting in response to a rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community. Jamie Cygielman, president and general manager of American Girl, spoke to Cheddar about the long development of the character. "As the pandemic began we started to see a lot of anti-Asian sentiment across the country," she said. "We sort of blended all of these stories together to create Corinne, an outline for Corinne, and then partnered with the wonderful author Wendy Shang to help tell that story to our fans." Cygielman also touched on linking up with AAPI Youth Rising, donating $25,000 for education efforts.
