Mars and becoming multiplanetary
- Q5 Why go to Mars / what is SpaceX's mission?
As civilization expands into space, most of the work is digital thinking rather than shaping atoms; he wants to build digital superintelligence and a sentient sun to understand the universe.
- Q12 What's the biggest remaining Starship problem?
After catching the ship, the next milestone is to re-fly both booster and ship — the first full reuse of an orbital rocket — then a long tail of making it rapidly reusable.
- Q22 When will Starship go to Mars?
They could have gone to orbit earlier but waited until they were confident of a safe de-orbit; the next flight (about four to six weeks) would try to catch the ship.
- Q70 When will Starship fly hourly? (asked on X)
If the booster is caught by the same tower that stacked it, he said it can in principle be reflown within an hour of landing.
- Q75 Why is SpaceX building a self-growing city on the Moon before Mars? (asked on X)
Without millions of tons to Earth orbit you cannot get the millions of tons needed to the Moon and Mars to make a sustainably multiplanet species.
- Q90 Is AI already running Starship? (asked on X)
Asked Isn't AI already running Starship, he said no AI was used for Starship. Just our little meat computers.
- Q92 Will Starship V3 be the same size or more massive? (asked on X)
Version 3 of Starship, with Raptor 3, was aimed at a first launch at the end of 2025.
- Q94 Will SpaceX offer travel to Mars to anyone who wants to go? (asked on X)
Anyone at SpaceX who wants to go to the Moon or Mars will be able to go in the future; he gave his word.
- Q99 When will Starship go to the Moon? (asked on X)
Using robots on the Moon to scale manufacturing, which sounds sci-fi but he said is going to happen, would enable a mass accelerator on the Moon.
- Q106 When will Starship demonstrate orbital refilling?
Orbital refilling of rockets has never been done; he hoped to demonstrate it next year (2026). Captions split 'next' and 'year' around applause.
- Q107 When will a city on Mars be self-sustaining?
Rough order of magnitude: about a million tons to the Martian surface so Mars can grow even if resupply from Earth stops; it might be 10 million tons.
- Q122 When will Starship catch both stages and fly weekly?
Says ship reentry must be perfected before catching the ship with the tower arms.
- Q124 When will Dragon carry astronauts?
He called it hopefully the first step toward a civilization on Mars.
- Q131 Why does rocket reusability matter?
He says it will take a few years for Starship to reach where Falcon 9 is, where landing is normal.
Then and now
- Starship to Mars in 2026: then vs now
From “default plan” to “low probability shot”: the 2026 Mars window, dated then revised.
- Starship full reuse and ship catch: then vs now
Ship catch, reflight and orbital refilling targets, 2024 to 2026.