A fully operational Starship solves many of SpaceX’s problems.
Max Q: Elon Musk talks Starship, envisions first orbital launch in January 2022
Hello and welcome back to Max Q, your very favorite space news digest. A ton happened this week — launches, financing deals, contract awards, etc., etc. — so let’s dive in. Send thoughts, tips, feedback to aria.techcrunch@gmail.com. Don’t forget to sign up to get the free newsletter version of Max Q delivered to your inbox. […]
SpaceX aims to conduct first orbital flight of Starship in January, Musk says
SpaceX has been advancing the development of Starship, the largest ultra-super-heavy reusable launch system ever designed in history, at a jaw-dropping pace — and CEO Elon Musk is “comfortable” it will reach orbit sometime next year. Musk made the comments — which often veered into the philosophical — at the National Academies’ first virtual joint […]
How SpaceX ignited a new Raptor engine on Starship without an explosion
So why don’t all rocket engines have giant nozzles?
The FAA releases initial report on Boca Chica launches, and it’s not terrible
“Support is greatly appreciated!”
SpaceX may dig a tunnel to enable frequent South Texas launches
County officials would not be willing to pay for the project.
SpaceX ships 100,000 Starlink terminals to customers, eyes future launches using Starship
Elon Musk’s Starlink project, which aims to provide global broadband connectivity via a constellation of satellites, has shipped 100,000 terminals to customers. 100k terminals shipped!https://t.co/Q1VvqVmJ2i — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2021 It’s a jaw-dropping pace for the capital-intensive service, which began satellite launches in November 2019 and opened its $99/month beta program for select […]
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin goes toe-to-toe with NASA in federal court over award to SpaceX
Blue Origin, the space company helmed by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is taking NASA to court. The company filed a complaint with a federal claims court on Monday over the agency’s decision to award a lunar lander contract solely to rival company SpaceX. The complaint, which Blue Origin successfully petitioned to have sealed, says NASA’s evaluation […]
With a single photo, SpaceX sent a not-so-subtle message to FAA regulators
Holding back Starship means holding back this progress, Musk was saying.
SpaceX stacks the full Starship launch system for the first time, standing nearly 400 feet tall
SpaceX has achieved another major milestone in its Starship fully reusable launch system: It stacked the Starship spacecraft itself on top of a prototype of its Super Heavy booster, which itself is loaded up with a full complement of 29 Raptor rocket engines, and the Starship on top has six itself. The stacked spacecraft now […]