Gwynne Shotwell (President of SpaceX): The Schedule for Upcoming Starship Missions

The twelfth launch (Flight 12) of the reusable Starship rocket took place in the second half of May. Not everything went as planned, but it was the first test of the third generation of Super Heavy and Ship vehicles, with the latter nearly achieving all mission objectives, while the first stage was destroyed during re-entry. What will happen in the upcoming launches was outlined by Gwynne Shotwell (President and COO of SpaceX), who discussed it during a talk on CNBC.

During the long interview, the topic of the IPO was obviously discussed, which allowed the company to raise a significant amount of money that will be used in both the aerospace sector and in Artificial Intelligence (thanks to xAI being absorbed into SpaceX, creating SpaceXAI). There was also a discussion about what lies ahead for future Starship launches, which will be crucial for the continuation of the U.S. company's plans, as well as a pillar of the Artemis program. Here’s what we know.

SpaceX and Upcoming Starship Launches

According to Gwynne Shotwell, the thirteenth launch (Flight 13) of Starship is expected to take place in about a month. As previously mentioned by Elon Musk, SpaceX aims to conduct two optimal suborbital launches of Ship before attempting the first orbital mission for the second stage. The failure that plagued Super Heavy Booster 19 should not have slowed down this roadmap, although the executive noted that much will depend on FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) assessments regarding Flight 12. Flight 14 could involve at least one orbital injection, even without actually completing an orbit. Shotwell seems optimistic about this, considering that in the past Starship had already performed a reignition of a Raptor engine in space (but it was from the previous generation).

After Flight 14, SpaceX could significantly increase the cadence of missions, reaching a launch every month. This will depend on the production capacity of the facilities, the results of upcoming missions, and the progress of work on the four pads currently under construction (LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center and SLC-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station), operational (Pad 2 at Starbase), and undergoing modification (Pad 1 at Starbase). According to Shotwell, Flight 15 could see the first launch operation related to the new vehicle from Florida, utilizing LC-39A.

At the Starbase production and development site (Texas), tests for Super Heavy Booster 20 and Ship 40, hardware dedicated to the next mission, have already begun. Both stages have already passed cold pressure tests and now must complete assembly before moving on to static fire tests and finally to final integration. The launch, as stated above, is expected around mid-July, but there is not yet a definite date. Ship 41 and Ship 42 are already in assembly, allowing the program to continue without delays.

Progress on Ship 42

Thanks to the experience gained from the previous Booster 19 and Ship 39, the testing campaign may take less time to complete, leading to a rapid launch preparation. Pad 2 has held up correctly for the launch of the new third-generation version, despite the additional thrust from the Raptor 3 engines. Some issues that arose will be fixed in the coming weeks, but it does not seem to have sustained significant damage.

This significant effort by SpaceX for Starship will serve both to meet government clients (from NASA to the Department of Defense) and to support contracts signed with other companies, as well as to benefit the company itself. In particular, the launch of the first third-generation Starlink satellites and AI1 (first generation) satellites is awaited. According to Shotwell, these satellites dedicated to Artificial Intelligence are easier to produce than Starlink, with operational capability expected in 2028, and the first prototypes that could be launched by the end of 2027.