SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket will begin flying missions to Mars within two years, if all goes according to plan.
“There will be no crew to test the reliability of an intact landing on Mars. If those landings go well, the first crewed flights to Mars will occur in 4 years,” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said via X on Saturday night (Sept. 7), in a post announcing the bold new goal timelines. (Earth and Mars align properly for interplanetary missions once every 26 months.)
“The rate of flight will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years,” Musk added in the same post. “Being multi-planetary will greatly increase the likely lifespan of consciousness, as we will no longer have all of our eggs, literally and metabolically, on a single planet.”
The stainless steel Starship consists of two elements: a first-stage booster called Super Heavy and a 165-foot-tall (50-meter) upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship.
The stacked Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. It stands about 400 feet tall and generates 17 million pounds of thrust at liftoff—nearly twice that of the Space Launch System (SLS), Agency’s Artemis lunar program rocket.
The SLS is disposable, but Starship is designed to be completely and quickly reused. In fact, SpaceX plans to place the Super Heavy back on the launch pad after each liftoff, allowing for rapid inspection, refurbishment and relaunch.
SpaceX believes Starship's combination of strength and efficiency will finally put the colonization of Mars (a long-cherished dream of Musk) within humanity's reach.
Related: SpaceX tests Starship Super Heavy rocket ahead of fifth flight (video)
Starship is not yet fully operational. It has flown four test missions to date: in April and November 2023 and in March and June of this year. The giant vehicle has performed better on each successive flight, achieving all of its primary objectives on the most recent mission.
SpaceX is currently preparing for the fifth flight of Starship, which could take place very soon; the company has already conducted test fires with the Super Heavy and Starship that will fly the mission.
The fifth flight will feature a spectacular new action: the first attempt to land Super Heavy back on the launch pad, an operation that will involve the use of the launch tower's “chopstick” arms. As Musk often says about Starship flights, excitement is guaranteed.