Will the Starship finally roll off SpaceX’s production lines? Elon Musk could provide some answers next Thursday.
According to The Verge, Elon Musk will speak next Thursday to give an update on Starship, the new generation of rockets stamped SpaceX. A speech that will be eagerly awaited; indeed, his last speech on the subject dates back several years. In addition, the program is entering a critical phase which deserves some clarification.
The ship, formerly codenamed “Big F****** Rocket”, is the future spearhead of the catalog of SpaceX, the American aerospace giant founded by the guru of Tesla. It is a vehicle that promises to be revolutionary in many ways. For starters, there’s obviously its absolutely massive size. The machine culminates at 48 meters high, to which must be added the 70 meters of the famous Super Heavy launcher.
With such measurements, there can be no doubt as to its vocation; it is designed for interplanetary travel. Its role will be to transport humans to destinations much further away than the International Space Station, such as the Moon or Mars. SpaceX engineers and enthusiasts are therefore eager to see this juggernaut reach orbit; there is no doubt that this launch will open a new chapter in aerospace.
Thursday next week at 8pm Texas time
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2022
From overflowing enthusiasm to radio silence
Last I heard, there was plenty to be excited about. From the Boca Chica base, Elon Musk spoke in front of a complete prototype of the ship. He took the opportunity to disclose many details on the program schedule, the technical challenges that await the engineers, and the oh so ambitious goals of the Starship program.
But here it is: since then, it’s been the absolute radio silence on the SpaceX side, at least as far as the Starship is concerned. A surprising discretion knowing that Musk has been giving us regular updates on the gestation of the monster since 2016. This silence, some observers have interpreted it as the consequence of a difficult pass. We may know more about this after the announcements next Thursday.
Elon Musk has not yet indicated the subject of his presentation. But it will probably be concrete announcements, knowing that the Starship should theoretically approach the home stretch of the preparations. We can therefore expect the leader to reveal the date of the last series of tests, and possibly the first flight in almost real conditions. But if this is the case, it will be imperative take this information with a pinch of salt.
Musk blows hot and cold
Indeed, Musk is known for a lot of things, but lucidity on deadlines is definitely not part of it. It’s hard to say if he just takes his role as SpaceX’s number one sales rep very (too much?) to heart, or if he just can’t hold his tongue; but what is certain is that those who trusted him on the precise Starship timeline are still twiddling their thumbs.
Aerospace is an industry that has always had a complicated relationship with the notion of deadline. But even in this often vague context, Musk is illustrated by his propensity to blow hot and cold. At the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, the leader seemed extremely enthusiastic and confident about meeting the schedule. During the summer, however, it announced a further postponement of the launch, this time until mid-2021. He then mentioned a departure in the fall, before returning to his announcements once again; right now, it looks like the launch is scheduled for July 2022.
But it goes without saying that we will remain skeptical about these announcements. At the very least, it would be safer until the juggernaut flies away once and for all. Especially since at the latest news, there was still a lot of work; the course of the program found itself completely upset by the whims of Raptor’s rocket engine. This central piece of the future vessel has given many engineers headaches over the past few months, to the point of bordering on “disaster” according to some observers.
This delicate situation even began to cast the beginnings of doubt on the durability of a titan that many considered unshakable. So it will be interesting to see if Musk finally unveils a ready-to-fly Starship during his presentation. We invite you to meet on Friday February 11 at 2 a.m. European time (or Thursday February 10 at 8 p.m. for those who live on American time).
