As a crucial NASA conference to discuss updates about the agency’s lunar landing plans is due later today, SpaceX’s first-of-a-kind video of an all-company hands-on meeting shares important details of the firm’s plans for the future in 2017. Since then, SpaceX has launched thousands of small low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites for its Starlink satellite internet constellation, developed a well-oiled machine for crewed missions to LEO, conducted two launches of the world’s largest rocket in development and raised billions of dollars in equity.
The video shares the importance of Starlink to SpaceX’s long-term plans, outlining SpaceX leaders’ plans to potentially grow Starlink to generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue for building a Mars colony. SpaceX’s Starship rocket aims to be the only rocket in the world capable of sending high-volume payload – including humans – to Mars directly from Earth as part of its founder Elon Musk’s desire to ensure humanity takes the next step in civilization progress to plant its roots on Mars.
SpaceX’s Plans To Build Foundry For Custom Materials Fabrication Detailed In Latest Video
SpaceX’s company meeting video, possibly shared in response to a scathing piece from the Wall Street Journal, was also striking due to the volume of missions in its 2017 manifest. Filmed in October 2017, it shows 17 planned and executed missions for the Falcon 9 in 2017. Back then, Musk warned his team that SpaceX could be launching as many as 52 rockets in a year in 2019 fueled by Starlink launches.
However, SpaceX launched 13 missions in 2019 and grew the manifest to 26 the next year to mark the highest number of times the Falcon 9 had launched back then. In 2017, Musk and SpaceX’s president and operations chief, Gwynne Shotwell, shared with employees that along with help from others, Starlink could become a $30 billion business and allow SpaceX to fully fund its Mars colony.
SpaceX completed 18 successful missions in 2017, launching flight-proven rockets and spacecrafts for the first time. It was a record-setting year and we were just getting started on our path toward a more exciting future.
Watch the full company talk with @elonmusk: pic.twitter.com/L24bWkIBTf
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 9, 2024
October 2017 was also a special month for SpaceX as it had booked more than a hundred launch contracts for its rockets recently. Back then, Musk also stressed that the Falcon Heavy – SpaceX’s largest operational rocket – is not an “afterthought”. The Falcon Heavy has flown multiple times since then, with the latest launch being the penultimate in SpaceX’s manifest for last year.
Since its early days, SpaceX has always relied on building its own rocket components and rapidly reducing costs. One of these components is the grid fin on the Falcon 9 rocket that allows the first-stage booster to propulsively land and support rapid reusability. The meeting contained details about this fin’s manufacturing, as Musk explained that the titanium grid fin that flew for the first time in October 2017 was fully cast, which added to its suitability as a tool to land a rocket.
One key part of the talk was a new foundry that SpaceX was building to manufacture advanced materials on-site rapidly. Building rocket engines and associated components requires high-end materials science that enables engineers to make products that withstand the harsh environment of a rocket engine and space.
SpaceX’s Shotwell was optimistic about the private sector’s interest in crewed spaceflight. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon are the first vehicles that have launched private crew to orbit around Earth. Their first such venture was a charitable venture funded by billionaire Jared Issacman to raise funds for the St. Jude Cancer Hospital for Children.
SpaceX’s Raptor engine, which came under fire from observers after its troubles during Starship flights, was praised by Musk for having completed 42 engine tests for a cumulative 1,200 seconds of testing without exploding. He added that while the Merlin was relatively unsophisticated, it was still prone to explosions.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
