‘SpaceX focuses on Starship project and wants to accelerate progress’

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reportedly wrote in an email to his employees that the company should focus as much as possible on the Starship project. Musk wants to accelerate the project’s progress “drasically and immediately.”

Musk’s email has been viewed by CNBC. The message would have been sent to all employees of SpaceX. Musk says in it: “Consider Starship the highest priority (aside from anything that can mitigate risks in Crew Dragon’s return).” According to CNBC, the SpaceX CEO emphasizes in the email that the progress of the Starship project needs to be accelerated.

Starship is SpaceX’s large rocket that can accommodate up to 100 passengers for missions to the Moon and Mars. Last year, the company made its first Starship prototypes and there have been several tests in Boca Chica, Texas, where the rocket is being developed. In doing so, SpaceX has had many setbacks. Four of the five prototypes have been lost. At the end of May, another Starship prototype went up in flames during a static fire test. SpaceX is already working on a new prototype: the Starship SN5.

While SpaceX has been working on the Starship project in recent years, the focus has been on the Falcon 9 launches and work on the first crewed Crew Dragon mission, which took place in late May. Now that that launch has been successful, the company seems to be looking to refocus on bigger plans for the future. Musk has the ambition to send people to Mars and set up a base there.