Uncrewed Flights to Begin, Crewed Missions to Follow
SpaceX’s ambitious vision to colonize Mars is set to take a significant leap forward in 2026. According to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, the company’s Starship megarocket will commence Mars missions just two years from now, marking a historic milestone in space exploration.
Testing the waters: Uncrewed missions first
“These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years,” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said via X on Saturday evening (Sept. 7), in a post that announced the bold new target timelines. (Earth and Mars align properly for interplanetary missions once every 26 months.)
Musk further elaborated on the long-term vision, saying, “Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years. Being multiplanetary will vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness, as we will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet.”
Starship: The colossal mega-rocket
The stainless-steel Starship is composed of two key elements: a first-stage booster known as Super Heavy and a 165-foot-tall (50 meters) upper-stage spacecraft called Starship. When fully stacked, Starship stands about 400 feet (122 meters) tall, making it the largest and most powerful rocket ever constructed. It generates a staggering 16.7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, nearly double that of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which is part of the Artemis moon program.
Unlike the expendable SLS, Starship is designed for full and rapid reusability. SpaceX plans to land Super Heavy back on the launch mount after each liftoff, allowing for quick inspection, refurbishment, and relaunch. This innovative approach aims to make the Mars settlement — a long-held dream of Musk’s — a tangible reality.
Progress and upcoming milestones
Starship has already completed four test missions, with flights in April and November of 2023 and March and June of this year. Each mission has demonstrated improved performance, achieving all major objectives on the most recent flight. SpaceX is now preparing for Starship’s fifth flight, which could occur soon. The company has already conducted test-fires with both the Super Heavy and the Starship that will be used for this mission.
The upcoming fifth flight promises new and dramatic action, including the first attempt to land Super Heavy back on the launch mount using the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms. As Musk often remarks about Starship flights, excitement is guaranteed.
The road ahead
SpaceX’s Starship program represents a monumental step towards making human settlement on Mars a reality. With the groundwork laid and significant progress made, the world watches with bated breath as SpaceX prepares to launch humanity into a multi-planetary future.