Elon Musk’s SpaceX To Send Five Uncrewed Starships To Mars In Two Years

Elon Musk is obsessed with space and there’s no two ways about that. Of course, there are two major projects related to space that the tech mogul helms – Starlink and SpaceX.

Starlink offers internet connectivity to users no matter where they are on the planet (if the service is enabled for that region) and consists of a constellation of satellites that orbit Earth in low Earth orbit (LEO).

Starlink is also a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX (formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corporation), which is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launch service provider and satellite communications company.

Yet, the primary source of funding for Starships is the company’s commercial Starlink program, in addition to NASA.

It aims to revolutionize and enhance space technology and travel, a goal it’s achieved through a series of milestones that include 386 total launches, 348 total landings and 319 total reflights.

Ahead of this, the company remains the only private company capable of returning a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit as per its website. Additionally, in 2012 it became the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station and even transported humans to the ISS in 2020.

Now, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has come out with a series of updates about one of the company’s goals close to his heart – traveling to Mars!

So, what did the space enthusiast say about this long-term goal? Let’s explore!

What Updates Did Elon Musk Provide About SpaceX’s Mars Mission?

“SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years,” read the first line of a post by Elon Musk published on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which provided updates about SpaceX’s future plans.
The plan after the five uncrewed Starships is to launch crewed missions, which is expected to come in four years from now.
However, the number of years to achieve this could vary based on the success of the initial five uncrewed missions; if all five land safely, then crewed missions in four years; if not or other challenges are observed, then crewed missions will be postponed by two more years.
This is because the ideal travel window to Mars opens only once every two years when the planets are aligned.
The current mission will be carried out to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars and comes with an extended plan of building a self-sustaining city on the planet in about 20 years.
Musk also mentioned that Starships will be much bigger in the future.
“Eventually, there will be thousands of Starships going to Mars and it will [be] a glorious sight to see! Can you imagine? Wow.”

What Challenges Stand In SpaceX’s Plan?

Earlier in the year, Musk said the first set of uncrewed Starships to land on Mars would be achieved within five years and crewed missions within seven years.
While Musk’s new timeline inspires confidence in Starship’s ability to achieve success, the last few months have seen several delayed projects using SpaceX’s Starships.
This includes NASA’s Artemis 3 mission, which was supposed to be its first crewed moon landing in over 50 years, moving from late 2025 to September 2026.
Even Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa’s private mission around the moon was moved from June because of uncertainties in the rocket’s development schedule.
On the other hand, the company achieved a breakthrough landing after a Starship rocket successfully completed a trip around the globe and returned from space, albeit on its fourth try.
However, Musk’s plan involves “exponentially” increasing the number of spaceships traveling to Mars, “no matter what happens with landing success.”

TechDogs-"An Image Of SpaceX's Starship On A Launch Pad"

Source

What Did Elon Musk’s Post Say?

Through the post, Elon Musk also highlighted other challenges that could hamper the company’s mission.
“The fundamental existential question is whether humanity becomes sustainably multiplanetary before something happens on Earth to prevent that, for example nuclear war, a supervirus or population collapse that weakens civilization to the point where it loses the ability to send supply ships to Mars.”
“One of my biggest concerns right now is that the Starship program is being smothered by a mountain of government bureaucracy that grows every year. This stifling red tape is affecting all large projects in America, which is why, for example, California has spent ~$7 billion dollars and several years on high-speed rail, but only has a 1600 ft section of concrete to show for it!”

Ahead of this, Elon Musk also hit back at the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) for “attacking SpaceX for petty matters”. This also included the company sending a letter to Congress.

“Enough is enough,” read Musk’s post pointing out the regulatory body was ignoring issues found in Boeing capsules, including being deemed unsafe for astronaut return by NASA, and instead was “fining SpaceX for trivia.”

Do you think SpaceX will be successful in landing all five Starship on the red planet?

Let us know in the comments below!

First published on Mon, Sep 23, 2024

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