Why Elon Musk’s Starship rocket is beating Nasa in the space race

Boca Chica: SpaceX’s Starship made headlines when it launched on October 13. This rocket is a game-changer, being the largest and most powerful ever built. It soared over 65 kilometers before coming back down, and thanks to some clever engineering, it managed to slow down just in time to avoid a crash.

SpaceX’s team is pretty pumped about this achievement. One engineer even said it’s a day for the history books! The journal Science also gave a nod to Starship, calling it a breakthrough that could make space missions way more affordable.

Musk’s company has already slashed the cost of sending stuff into orbit by ten times. Once Starship is fully operational, we can expect even more savings. SpaceX is aiming for a launch schedule of every two to three weeks, which is pretty ambitious.

Scientists are excited because this means they can do more research in space without breaking the bank. With Starship, they can take more risks and use cheaper materials for their instruments. Imagine sending fleets of rovers to Mars instead of just one!

But there are some concerns too. Starship could put NASA’s expensive Space Launch System out of business. Each SLS launch costs billions, while Musk aims for just $10 million. Many believe that in a few years, Starship will make SLS obsolete.

On the flip side, some scientists are uneasy about Musk’s political views and his ties to Trump. His plans for Mars colonization are ambitious, with hopes to send uncrewed missions in two years and crewed ones in four. Musk dreams of a million people living on Mars in 30 years, but that’s a tall order.

Getting to Mars is no walk in the park. There are serious challenges like cosmic radiation and finding water. Some experts think Musk’s vision is overly optimistic, arguing that we should focus on solving problems here on Earth first.

In the end, while Starship might change space science, it’s unlikely to alter the course of human history.