Elon Musk's Starship failed—again. We're all better for it
To anyone with an interest in space travel or astronomy in general, this is probably pretty disappointing news. Even Musk's self-proclaimed fanboys are feeling let down after yet another unsuccessful flight. But it's my opinion that this latest technological failure is a blessing in disguise.
Of course, humans have accomplished space travel in the past. But as Musk described in a speech last week, he has a specific ambition: the colonization of Mars. Despite the fact that no human has yet set foot on Mars, let alone figured out how to make its environment habitable for humans, Musk is determined to make life on Mars possible.
This is where the Starship, specifically, factors in: The rocket is the largest ever built, and Musk intends to use it to send an uncrewed mission to Mars by the end of 2026; the eventual goal is to transport private citizens—'hundreds of thousands if not millions' of them—to Mars. He believes that humanity not only can but should secure its future by going to 'the asteroid belt, the moons of Jupiter . . . and other star systems . . . making science fiction no longer fiction.'
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