Elon Musk said SpaceX will send its enormous Starship rocket into orbit for the first time early next year, with a dozen or more flights expected in 2022.

The SpaceX CEO made the statement in a meeting with the Space Studies Board and the Board on Physics and Astronomy.

Starship is a SpaceX spacecraft that will transport persons and payloads to places like the Moon and Mars. The Super Heavy and the primary Starship spaceship are the two sections.

The date of the Starship's first launch attempt will be affected by the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) continuing environmental evaluation of the launch location, known as the Starbase.

[WATCH] SpaceX Starship SN20 Prototype Ignited All Its 6 Raptor Engines in a Brief Static Test Fire
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Starship SN20 getting a tile inspection (close-up)


SpaceX Targets Early 2022 for Launch Attempt

SpaceX wants to conduct Starship's first orbital launch by January or February next year.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also claimed in a report by Space.com that his business is targeting at least a dozen Starship missions for 2022.

ALSO READ: Watch SpaceX Starship SN20 Prototype Ignited All Its 6 Raptor Engines in a Brief Static Test Fire [Watch]


The company will use a Starship prototype called SN20 during the orbital test flight. The SN20 "features the full complement of six Raptors and a 29-engine Super Heavy known as Booster 4."

Bloomberg said Starship had taken multiple test flights from SpaceX's assembly site in South Texas, reaching a height of around 6 miles (10 kilometers). The business wants to orbit the Earth once and then drop the spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles northwest of Kauai for the orbital voyage.

Elon Musk Says SpaceX Would Need 1,000 More Launch Systems to Establish a Multi-Planetary Existence

Compared to all previous launch systems in history, the magnitude of Starship, which includes the Starship spaceship and the Super Heavy rocket, is difficult to overestimate. It stands 394 feet tall when fully completed (in contrast, NASA's in-development Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft reach 322 feet tall when fully stacked).

According to TechCrunch, the Starship might be capable of regularly launching more than 100 tons into orbit and serve as "a generic transport mechanism for the broader solar system," according to Musk.

On the other hand, Musk isn't trying to create one, two, or even ten Starships. Instead, he predicted during the discussion that humanity would require about 1,000 launch systems to establish a truly multi-planetary existence. And SpaceX has established a facility to mass-produce them - or as close to mass-production as fans could hope for.

FAA Environmental Assessment

The continuing environmental study being undertaken by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is one of the elements that will influence the date of the Starship's maiden orbital launch attempt.

The Starbase, the Starship's launch point located in Texas, is undergoing an environmental evaluation.

In the middle of the continuing examination, Elon Musk resorted to Twitter last month to assure the public that their "support makes a significant difference."

The SpaceX CEO asked the public to suggest the FAA sought feedback on its draft environmental assessment.

RELATED ARTICLE: Elon Musk Says SpaceX Starship Prototype Could Launch Next Month Once FAA Approves License Application

Check out more news and information on SpaceX in Science Times.