Musk says SpaceX could send 5 uncrewed Starships to Mars in 2 years
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a social media post Sunday that his space company plans to launch about five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years, though one of his biggest concerns is the growing government bureaucracy that he says is smothering the Starship program.
Musk posted on the social media platform X – another one of his companies – about the future of traveling to Mars.
"SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years," he wrote. "If those all land safely, then crewed missions are possible in four years. If we encounter challenges, then the crewed missions will be postponed another two years."
The billionaire entrepreneur explained in his post that it is only possible to travel from Earth to Mars when the planets align every two years, making the task more difficult.
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Musk also enlightened the world about his vision of Mars missions, which will ultimately lead to making the Red Planet a tourist destination.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 8: Elon Musk attends the Men's Singles Final match between Taylor Fritz of the United States and Jannik Sinner of Italy on Day Fourteen of the 2024 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center on September 8, 2024 i
"No matter what happens with landing success, SpaceX will increase the number of spaceships traveling to Mars exponentially with every transit opportunity," he wrote. "We want to enable anyone who wants to be a space traveler to go to Mars! That means you or your family or friends – anyone who dreams of great adventure.
"Eventually, there will be thousands of Starships going to Mars, and it will [be] a glorious sight to see! Can you imagine? Wow," he added.
Fox News has reached out to Space X for further comment.
Musk's vision also includes making sure humanity becomes sustainably multiplanetary before a catastrophic event, such as nuclear war or a super virus, on Earth prevents that from happening.
"One of my biggest concerns right now is that the Starship program is being smothered by a mountain of government bureaucracy that grows every year," Musk wrote on X. "This stifling red tape is affecting all large projects in America, which is why, for example, California has spent $7 billion dollars and several years on high-speed rail, but only has a 1600 ft section of concrete to show for it!"
Musk, who has endorsed former President Trump for another four years in the Oval Office, said he has many concerns about Vice President Harris becoming president. His "absolute showstopper," he noted, is the "bureaucracy currently choking America to death," which Musk added is guaranteed to grow under another Democratic Party administration.
"This would destroy the Mars program and doom humanity," Musk wrote. "It cannot happen."
Musk predicted this month that his company will conduct the first crewed flights to Mars in four years, adding that the idea of establishing a sustainable human settlement on the Red Planet within 20 years was not out of reach.
Read more of this story from FOX Business.