Published 20:19 IST, June 9th 2020
Elon Musk not satisfied with ISS; tells SpaceX staff to focus on Starship for Moon & Mars
Elon Musk has reportedly sent out an email to his more than 7000 employees to start focusing towards the making of Starship and its launch as the next step.
- Science News
- 3 min read
After successfully sending two astronauts at the International Space Station in May, Elon Musk is all set to widen his horizons and achieve even more. As per a news source, the Founder and CEO of Space X sent out an email to more than 7000 employees to not waste time post their recent success. Musk wants to push his employees to focus on sending people deeper into space with the help of the proposed SpaceX Starship.
Elon Musk’s email to his employees
SpaceX's Starship is a proposed next-generation spacecraft. It is a reusable rocket that is aimed at being able to land on the Moon, and will able to take 100 people along with it at one time to Mars once such a capability and need is established. Musk wrote that they are in need to accelerate the Starship's progress, as per accounts of those who have read the note.
About Starship and its various versions
Starship is a proposed rocket by SpaceX and its testing site is in Boca Chica in Texas. It was originally being developed by another team in Florida as well. The spacecraft is designed to be reusable and will also be able to support both crew and cargo configurations. It will be able to take trips to the Earth’s orbit. Deep space destinations like the Moon and Mars are also under the list of places that the Starship is targeted at being able to reach. As per a tech magazine, SpaceX has plans to replace models Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy with Starship. This can lead to cost reduction as it will unify the production lines and also have complete reusability.
The Starship work-in-progress is not the first of its kind. The development of Starship has witnessed many challenges and failures. While they had successful testing of its engine Raptor with the prototype Starhopper, they have come across failures during testing. The Starship being assembled now is SN5, which is the fifth prototype of Starship. SN6 and SN7 are being constructed side by side.
Another news source claimed that since astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are successfully placed at the International Space Station after the SpaceX launch, Elon Musk has now sent out a spark of urgency on the Starship project. The source also claims that Elon Musk had shared that he hopes to launch the first crew to Mars in a Starship in the next couple of years. He claims to be able to do this by mid-2024. It will be the start of an effort to populate the red planet as well, though it remains to be seen how he far he gets along in doing this.
Updated 20:19 IST, June 9th 2020