Starship keeps blowing up, but Elon Musk still wants to send it to Mars by 2026
Elon Musk has set a fresh timeline for SpaceX's Starship programme. Speaking in a new video posted online, the billionaire said he expects the first uncrewed Starship mission to Mars to take place at the end of 2026.
That date lines up with a rare orbital alignment of Earth and Mars, which occurs every two years, allowing for a shorter journey between the planets. The mission would take between seven and nine months to reach its destination. But Musk tempered expectations.
He admitted there was only a '50-50 chance' of meeting that deadline. 'If it's not ready in time,' he said, 'we'll have to wait for the next window two years later.'
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Simulated crews, big ambitions
The 2026 mission won't carry humans. Instead, it will feature a simulated crew made up of robots designed in the Optimus humanoid format by Tesla. The first human missions could follow in the second or third landings, Musk said.
Eventually, SpaceX plans to launch 1,000 to 2,000 ships to Mars every two years. The aim is to rapidly establish a permanent, self-sustaining human colony.
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Musk said: 'The goal is to make life multiplanetary.' He has long called for a stronger focus on human spaceflight to Mars, and this timeline marks his most concrete pitch yet after previously proposing an uncrewed mission in 2018 and a human mission by 2024—both of which were delayed.
Starship's rocky test record
The announcement comes just days after the latest in a string of failed test flights. On Tuesday, SpaceX attempted the ninth test flight of the Starship-Super Heavy rocket system from its Starbase site in Texas. The mission ended in failure when the craft lost control and exploded about 30 minutes after launch.
The first-stage Super Heavy booster detonated shortly after liftoff. Then, the upper-stage Starship suffered a fuel leak during reentry and exploded. A livestream capturing the flight was cut short. A planned presentation by Musk, titled 'The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary,' was cancelled without notice.
This was the third failed test in a row. Earlier flights in January and March also ended in explosions. In those cases, the spacecraft disintegrated shortly after launch, spreading debris over parts of the Caribbean and forcing several commercial jets to reroute.
'Good data' from failure
Musk remained upbeat in the aftermath. He posted on X: 'Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent.' But he acknowledged that 'leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase.'
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that there was no injury or property damage. 'There were no reports of public injury or damage to public property at this time,' it said in a statement. The agency is now investigating the incident with SpaceX.
Faster launches, bigger stakes
Musk promised to speed up testing. He said Starship would now launch every three to four weeks—a major jump from earlier timelines.
Backing that ambition, the FAA has recently lifted its cap on the number of launches SpaceX can conduct from its Texas site. Previously, it was limited to just five flights a year.
SpaceX said in a statement on social media: 'With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's test will help us improve Starship's reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary.'
The company also used its trademark phrase for the failure, calling it a 'rapid unscheduled disassembly.'
Starship's role in NASA plans
NASA has partnered with SpaceX to use Starship for its Artemis programme. The goal is to return astronauts to the Moon as early as 2027—the first such mission since the Apollo era more than 50 years ago. If successful, that mission will serve as a stepping stone for future human missions to Mars in the 2030s.
While the Starship programme has made headlines for its spectacular failures, Musk has made it clear that each setback is part of a learning process. He is shifting more focus onto his companies, having recently stepped back from his role in U.S. political campaigns, saying he wants to spend more time on SpaceX and Tesla.
As tests continue and deadlines approach, SpaceX faces mounting pressure to turn fiery failures into lasting success. The next 18 months will determine whether Musk's Mars vision lifts off—or gets grounded once again.
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