SpaceX Executive: "Starship" 12th Test Flight Coming Up, Moon and Mars Are Both Important

At the World Mobile Communications Congress in Spain, SpaceX executives provided the most definitive timeline yet for the commercial maiden flight of their next-generation rocket.

SpaceX’s Senior Vice President of Starlink, Michael Nicolls, stated that Starship will be ready to align with the schedule to launch an upgraded constellation of Starlink mobile communication satellites by mid-2027.

Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX, said in an interview that the next test flight of Starship is expected to occur within the next four to six weeks. Previously, Elon Musk mentioned that the 12th test flight could take place around early March.

Analysts note that this launch will be closely watched by potential investors, as the company is considering an IPO later this year, with a valuation possibly reaching $1.5 trillion, which could be the largest IPO in history.

In October last year, SpaceX successfully completed the 11th test flight of Starship in Texas, with the spacecraft ultimately splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Compared to the company’s current rockets like Falcon 9, Starship is expected to significantly improve in cost and payload capacity.

Starship features a fully reusable design, capable of carrying up to 150 tons of payload on reuse, and up to 250 tons in a single-use configuration.

This rocket is crucial to Musk’s long-term space ambitions, potentially securing more contracts from NASA, sending humans to the Moon, and ultimately reaching Mars.

The success or failure of Starship’s test flights is also central to the company’s marketing to Wall Street investors: reusable launch vehicles are expected to revolutionize the economics of space access and propel SpaceX into a new phase of growth.

Additionally, the increased payload capacity will accelerate SpaceX’s expansion of its constellation of thousands of Starlink communication satellites. Currently, this network serves millions of users.

Nicolls said, “Starship can carry more than 50 satellites per launch, and we will start launching in mid-2027. This way, Starship can rapidly deploy the entire satellite constellation system.”

Last month, the monthly active users of Starlink Mobile surpassed 10 million. Nicolls stated that the company aims to more than double this number by the end of the year, reaching 25 million.

Currently, Starlink Mobile is working with telecom operators including T-Mobile US and Virgin Media O2 to provide mobile signal services in areas without ground network coverage.

“Overall, in some regions, this system could even replace ground communication networks,” Nicolls added. He also revealed that SpaceX plans to deploy 1,200 satellites within six months after launch next year to create a more capable next-generation network.

When asked whether SpaceX’s priority is the Moon or Mars, Shotwell responded that both are important. “Elon has recently talked a lot about the Moon, but Mars is his true passion. We can consider them as equally prioritized.”