Latest news with #SpaceXEmployees
Gizmodo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Gizmodo
Musk Still Thinks Mars Is a Go for 2026, Despite Starship's Epic Losing Streak
The SpaceX CEO outlined upcoming changes to the rocket while staying committed to a 2026 mission to the Red Planet. Despite a disappointing streak of Starship launches, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk remains optimistic about using the megarocket to transport humans to Mars within the next few years. During a recent talk, the rocket billionaire remained intent on launching Starship to Mars during an upcoming window in 2026. He also awkwardly mentioned that humanity would need to move to the Red Planet in case World War III breaks out. On Thursday, SpaceX released a video of Musk addressing employees during a company talk titled, 'The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary.' The talk was originally meant to be streamed on Tuesday, the same day Starship lifted off for a less-than-ideal test flight. Musk was a no-show, leading us to wonder where he was. Then, without explanation, the company dropped the 42-minute video on its X page, though it's not clear when Musk delivered the talk. As expected, Musk made some big promises for Starship while ignoring the rocket's three consecutive failures. 'Progress is measured by the timeline to establishing a self-sustaining civilization on Mars,' Musk said during his talk. 'Each launch is about learning more and more about what's needed to make life multi-planetary and to improve Starship to the point where it can be taking, ultimately, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to Mars.' Musk sees Mars as a vital lifeline for humanity, describing it as essential 'for the long term survival of civilization.' He claims that any civilization is likely to last 10 times longer if it is multiplanetary, because 'there's always some chance that us humans could do something crazy like World War III,' he said. 'Hopefully not, but it's possible.' Starship is at the center of Musk's overly ambitious plan to establish human settlements on Mars. Before its most recent test flight, Starship suffered back-to-back glitches that resulted in the rocket exploding twice in a row. SpaceX stated that there were several improvements made to Starship ahead of Flight 9, but the rocket fell into an unrecoverable spin about 30 minutes after launch. SpaceX managed to push Starship further than in the previous two tests but it still failed to meet a lot of its flight goals, including the deployment of eight simulated Starlink satellites, relighting one of its engines in space, and testing the rocket's engine during reentry. During his talk, Musk failed to refer to Starship's recent losses and instead boasted about clear highlights from the rocket's launch journey thus far, including that epic booster catch on October 13, 2024. Starship, the largest rocket ever built, currently stands 397 feet (121 meters) tall, but an upcoming version of it will be even bigger. Version 3, according to Musk, will be at around 408 feet (124.4 meters). Aside from its bigger frame, Starship will also have an upgraded design that Musk hopes will make it more reliable, with an upper stage that can be refueled in Earth orbit so that it can reach more distant destinations like Mars. The vehicle will also have upgraded Raptor engines. 'The upgraded Raptors have a complete redesign of the aft end of the booster and the ship,' Musk said during a recent interview with Ars Technica. 'So, because we don't need the heat shield around the upper portion of the engine, it greatly simplifies the base of the booster and the ship. It'll look a little, frankly, naked, especially on the booster side, because the engines will just be there, like, not with stuff around them.' The SpaceX CEO is aiming for Starship's Version 3 to fly by the end of this year. From there, he hopes to catch an upcoming launch window for Mars that opens at the end of 2026. 'We'll try to make that opportunity, if we get lucky,' Musk said during his talk. 'I think we probably have a 50/50 chance right now.' We've learned not to take Musk's timelines too seriously, but a Starship redesign will probably be necessary to lift the rocket out of its recent slump. And until SpaceX successfully demonstrates in-orbit refueling—an absolute requirement for reaching Mars—Starship remains more fantasy than spacecraft.
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Elon Musk says his Mars 2026 presentation will take place Friday
For years, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has touted his ambitions to send people to Mars as a way to preserve the human race. On Friday, he'll give an update on his plans. Musk announced the SpaceX Mars 2026 presentation in an X post on Thursday. The announcement will mark Musk's return to his businesses after nearly 130 days enacting dramatic government cuts with his Department of Government Efficiency. He said this week that he was stepping back from his government duties after being Donald Trump's right-hand man for the first four months of his presidency. The news comes days after Musk addressed SpaceX employees about 'making life multiplanetary.' The company just completed its ninth Starship flight mission on Tuesday. SpaceX employees reached space but then lost control of the vessel. Musk has frequently discussed his intentions to send an unmanned spacecraft to Mars by the end of 2026 and have humans 'likely' land on the planet by 2031. His interest in the project reportedly stems from the long-term survival of humans. In at least six billion years, our solar system's expanding sun is set to destroy Earth, according to NASA. In a Fox News interview earlier this month, Musk said: 'That's one of the benefits of Mars, is life insurance for life collectively.' He added: "We do at some point need to be a multi-planet civilization, because Earth will be incinerated." Musk envisions creating a self-sustaining colony on Mars. Scientists believe it could be possible for humans to live on Mars in the future. The climate is currently harsh. Icy temperatures and a lack of water are present throughout the planet. To combat this, Musk has suggested using Tesla-developed solar panels to provide electricity and heat homes. The CEO aims to have one million people living on Mars by the 2040s. The planet is supposedly ideal because it is Earth's closest neighbor, has similar levels of sunlight and length of days. In the meantime, he wants to make it possible for people to travel to Mars recreationally. Still, Musk has missed his own deadlines for planetary exploration. In 2016, he said he wanted to send humans to Mars by 2024. A year later, he said he would offer private citizens trips to the moon. Neither of the plans materialized.
Bloomberg
28-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Back at SpaceX, Musk Vows to Ramp Up Launches After Explosion
By Sana Pashankar and Save The mid-flight explosion of SpaceX 's Starship — its third consecutive setback — underscores the daunting challenges Elon Musk faces in achieving his lofty space ambitions as the world's richest person pledges to scale back his political work in Washington to focus on his business empire. When SpaceX's Starship thundered off the South Texas launchpad late Tuesday, employees cheered the world's largest and most powerful rocket's ability to surpass the previous two flawed missions. But halfway into the flight, the stainless-steel rocket exploded after leaking propellant and spinning out of control.
