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.
3D printing company Velo3D released its first earnings report since going public in September. CEO and co-founder Benny Buller joined Cheddar to discuss the company's bottom line miss while noting he expects revenue for the year will hit $26 million. Buller also expressed optimism about the company achieving $89 million in revenue in 2022.
Wheels Up CEO Kenny Dichter talked to Cheddar about the aviation company's Q3 earnings report, the increase in memberships, and rising fuel costs. He attributed some of the increase in the number of members and rising revenue to lingering concerns about commercial flying amid the pandemic and noted that legacy members have used the service more frequently than in previous years. Dichter also explained that a rise in pricing is planned for December.
With more companies offering employees flexibility in work schedules, Airbnb is looking to accommodate flexible travel plans. Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Blecharczyk joined Cheddar to discuss the growing trend of people staying in Airbnbs for longer periods of time. "In December over the holidays, in North America, we are seeing a 68 percent increase in the demand for month-long stays relative to years past," he said.
Asad Hussain, lead mobility analyst at data company PitchBook, joined Cheddar to discuss the blockbuster Rivian IPO. The electric truck maker's valuation jumped to more than $90 billion, signaling progress in the "multi-decade transformation in mobility," according to Hussain. He noted that electric automakers like Rivian, Tesla, and Lucid, will continue to lead electrification in being free to innovate and lacking the legacy issues facing traditional, combustion engine carmakers.
Coinbase reported third quarter earnings yesterday and revenue did not at all meet estimates, with the company saying that it also saw a staggering decrease of about 1.4 million customers in comparison to the previous quarter. This comes in the same week where bitcoin and ethereum, two of its most important digital assets hit record highs. Martin Gaspar, research analyst at CrossTower explains how a soft crypto trading quarter contributed to the less-than-ideal revenue outcome.
John Jannarone, Editor-In-Chief at IPOedge.com, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Riivian ahead of its public debut on the Nasdaq, as investors gear up for the biggest IPO for a U.S. company since Facebook.
DoorDash is set to acquire European-based food delivery company Wolt in an $8.1 billion deal. Ann Berry, chief investment officer at media platform Wheelhouse, joined Cheddar to discuss how this positions DoorDash in the prepared food and potentially the grocery delivery space. "I do think that what DoorDash is trying to be thoughtful about now is how to take that there's been a shift in consumer behavior in terms of mobile ordering and delivery and try and apply it to other categories," she said, also pointing to its partnership with beauty supply company Ulta.
Amazon founder Jeffrey Bezos took to the stage at the U.N.'s COP26 Climate Summit to unveil a new plan to combat climate change, but some say it might do more harm than good. Justine Calma, Science Reporter at The Verge, joined Cheddar to discuss.
Misfits Market, the grocery delivery company that capitalizes on curbing food waste, expanded into California for the first time on Wednesday. Abhi Ramesh, founder and CEO, joined Cheddar to discuss the launch in the Golden State, after the company's beginnings in Philadelphia and experiencing a wave of growth amid the pandemic. He noted that the expansion was an opportunity to provide West Coast communities with fresh produce as "one in five California households are in food deserts and don't have access to fresh, healthy food."
George Seay, CEO of Annandale Capital, talks about the supply chain issues and labor shortages impacting the tech sector, and where to hedge as inflation rises.
