SpaceX engineers spent several days inspecting Ship 40 in the waters off Christmas Island. They collected heatshield samples and gained vital insight into how the vehicle handled reentry with improvements now planned on future vehicles
Ship 39 cryoproof operations complete, the first campaign with a next generation Starship V3.
Across several days, engineers tested the vehicle’s redesigned propellant system and its structural strength, including squeeze tests to mimic the forces of future ship catches
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars.
It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city.
That said, SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster.
During Starship's ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.
We will review the data from today's flight test to better understand root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship's reliability.
The astronauts were only supposed to be up there for 8 days and now have been there for 8 months.
SpaceX could have sent up another Dragon and brought them home 6 months ago, but the Biden White House (not NASA) refused to allow it.
President Trump asked to bring them back as soon as possible and we are doing so.
Elon Musk is a mission-driven individual—always has been. It would be stupid to assume he’s motivated by personal financial gain. While wealth is a byproduct of his work, it is not the goal.
Some people argue that Elon is using his involvement with DOGE and government connections for self-enrichment. Yet, those same people also claim that Tesla’s stock decline—causing his net worth to drop by over $160 billion—is due to these very actions and political involvement. So which is it?
If Elon's primary goal were wealth accumulation, he could just start another company. xAI was founded less than 24 months ago and is already valued at $75 billion. He doesn’t need DOGE or political ties to grow his fortune.
Elon uses his wealth as a tool to achieve his goals and advance his missions. Every company he has founded operates with a mission statement focused on improving people's lives.
His work on DOGE is just over a month in—still in the early stages. Mistakes are expected in such as fast past environment, but they will be identified and corrected over time. In the long run, I believe people will look back with appreciation for the positive impact he has made—not just in business but also in government. Short term pain for long term gain.