Austen Allred
@Austen · Sep 24, 2024
Can anyone explain to me why they’re so convinced SpaceX can’t launch unmanned Starships to Mars in the next two years?
They hit insane launch cadences and are already on their fifth Starship test flight.
Of all the aggressive timelines set this one seems… pretty doable
Elon Musk
@elonmusk
A surprising number of people don’t understand what a profound level unlock full reusability is.
It is the holy grail of rocketry and the fundamental breakthrough needed to make life multiplanetary.
Starship is designed for full & rapid reusability – launch, land, refill propellant & launch again immediately! This obviously means that flight rate can be far higher than Falcon 9, which still requires a new upper stage for each mission. Falcon 9 is now launching every 2 to 3 days.
The other crucial element, for missions beyond Earth, is orbital refilling. This requires docking with ourselves for propellant transfer, which is far easier than docking with the Space Station, something we already do several times a year.
10:54 AM · September 24, 2024 · 75K views
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