Elon Musk Claims SpaceX Starship Will Exceed NASA Moon Rocket Power by 3 Times

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During a recent address to Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, Elon Musk provided an update on SpaceX’s ambitious Starship project, which is currently the largest rocket under development globally. SpaceX is preparing for its tenth full-stack flight and has set critical goals for the upcoming year, including the recovery of the upper stage and the capability for orbital propellant refilling. Achieving these milestones is vital for significantly lowering the costs of space launches; however, the company has faced ongoing challenges with its Starship testing program slated for 2025.

Elon Musk Discusses Starship’s High “Giggle Factor”

Musk opened his presentation by acknowledging the formidable task of developing Starship. He stated, “Starship is a crazy program on so many levels, ”emphasizing that future versions of the spacecraft will possess two and a half to three times the thrust of the Saturn V moon rocket, renowned as the largest rocket ever constructed.

Highlighting the unprecedented power of Starship, Musk pointed out that it will generate roughly three times the thrust while being approximately twice as heavy as its predecessor, the Saturn V, used during NASA’s Apollo missions. Musk noted that one of the program’s most ambitious elements is the goal of achieving full and rapid reusability, classifying it as “one of the hardest engineering challenges that exists.”Initial reactions to Starship often included skepticism, with Musk recalling that many people “thought this was impossible, ”leading to what he calls the high “giggle factor”surrounding the project, where audiences would laugh at its audacity.

SpaceX Super Heavy booster — The Super Heavy booster at the launch pad ahead of Starship Flight 8. Image: SpaceX

Shifting to the current challenges facing the Starship program, Musk identified the heat shield as the most significant hurdle, stating, “solving the heat shield problem is, I think, probably the single most biggest remaining challenge for Starship.”The upper stage of the spacecraft is reinforced with thousands of heat shield tiles securely manufactured by SpaceX, which are necessary for surviving atmospheric re-entry.

Following the successful creation of the heat shield, the next significant target for SpaceX is to ensure the upper stage can land safely and be caught by the innovative tower mechanism, often referred to as the “giant metal chopsticks.”This method of recovery is essential for maintaining the rocket’s reusability, as landing on water would not be a viable solution. Musk expressed optimism that the first recovery might occur this year, or at the latest, in the first half of the next year.

Once the recovery system is successfully operational, SpaceX plans to make additional enhancements aimed at ensuring not just reusability, but full and rapid turnarounds of both the spacecraft and booster. Such advancements are crucial for driving down the per-flight costs and reducing the cost per ton of payload to below that of the Falcon 1 rocket, which has historically delivered only half a ton to orbit.

Musk emphasized that these lower launch costs will transform the economic landscape of space travel, stating that delivering over 100 tons of useful payload to orbit could become less expensive than the traditional costs associated with launching much smaller payloads, such as those serviced by Falcon 1.

Another pivotal objective for Starship is developing in-space refueling capabilities, which are critical for both interplanetary missions and NASA’s Artemis lunar programs. Musk explained that the refueling process, referred to as “refilling, ”will initially involve two Starships docking together to transfer propellant before progressing to a fully operational orbital propellant depot.

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