Elon Musk Says Next Starship Launch Coming Soon As SpaceX Completes 100 Dedicated Starlink Missions

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that the much-awaited second flight attempt of its Starship would happen soon.

What Happened: Musk also shared the pictures posted by his rocket manufacturing company of the Super Heavy Booster 9 on the orbital launch pad at Starbase. The booster was brought back to the launch pad for additional preflight testing, SpaceX said.

The new announcement by the CEO coincides with the successful launch of the 100th dedicated Starlink mission by SpaceX. Falcon 9 launched 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from California on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at 2:37 a.m. PT.

Why It Matters: Starship is a fully reusable transportation system expected to carry people and cargo to Mars and includes the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket. SpaceX conducted the first test launch of Starship on April 20. The rocket exploded in less than four minutes after take-off.

In an interview with journalist and author Ashlee Vance on June 24, Musk estimated a 60% probability for the next flight to reach orbit, contingent on the success of stage separation. 

Last week, SpaceX even offered a peek into the upgrades made to the rocket, including the addition of a vented interstage and heat shield which will enable the spacecraft to turn on its engines while booster engines are still firing.

Starship is key to realizing Musk's dreams of making life "multi-planetary." In 2020, he said that he would send a million people to Mars by 2050 aboard Starship. Last month, he even envisioned 50 rockets flying every 3 days on average and enabling enough payload to build a self-sustaining city on Mars.

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Read More: Elon Musk Reflects On SpaceX’s Remarkable 4-Year Journey: Starhopper To Starship

Image generated using AI via MidJourney