Elon Musk: SpaceX needs to build spaceships like Boeing builds 737s

It's no secret that Elon Musk has big ambitions for SpaceX's massive Starship rocket. This is the vehicle that, with lots of permutations and upgrades, Musk says, will transport goods and people across the solar system to build a settlement on Mars, making humanity a multi-planetary species and fulfilling the billionaire's long-standing dream.

Of course, this is far-fetched. SpaceX is still working on sending the spacecraft into or near orbit, a feat that appears possible this year. Next, the company will begin launching Starlink satellites on Starship missions while testing the in-space refueling technology needed to turn Starship into a dedicated lunar lander for NASA.

SpaceX's South Texas team is progressing toward the third full-scale test flight of Starship. On December 20, the spacecraft's upper stage scheduled for the next test flight completed test firing of the Raptor engines at the Starbase launch site on the Texas Gulf Coast. Nine days later, the 33-engined Super Heavy booster rocket was launched onto the launch pad for its static fire test. On the same day, SpaceX launched the Starship upper stage again on a test stand next to the launch pad.

With these milestones completed, ground teams returned the booster to its hangar for final preflight checks and reconfiguration. The ship will also need to be returned to its high bay.

SpaceX may be weeks away from getting both vehicles ready for flight, but the company has not issued an update on lessons learned from the previous Starship test flight in November. That flight was largely successful, with seemingly flawless performance from the 33 engines on the Super Heavy booster during launch. The spacecraft's upper stage reached space before self-destructing over the Gulf of Mexico. The booster exploded during a maneuver to return to land for a controlled landing at sea.

The company's engineers will want to understand and correct the cause of these problems. The FAA then needs to approve SpaceX's investigation into the latest Starship flight before issuing a new commercial launch license. When it flies off again, the spacecraft will attempt to reach near orbital velocity, fast enough to travel most of the way around the globe before reentering the atmosphere near Hawaii.

Verifying the performance of the Starship's heat shield tiles during reentry will be useful learning for SpaceX, but the first Starship should be a complete success at launch. This is just the beginning of the privately funded Starship program.