In a recent email sent to his employees, Elon Musk discusses problems with the Raptor engine production line. SpaceX boss says company could even face 'real risk of bankruptcy if she is unable to fly her Starship at least once every two weeks starting next year.
The Raptors are the engines that will propel the Starship, the huge interplanetary and reusable vessel developed by SpaceX. Each of these vehicles will need six of these engines, plus the thirty-three engines needed to lift its launcher, the Super Heavy.
We know that SpaceX would like to operate many Starships in the years to come. The company will notably be responsible for transporting freight and humans to the Moon as part of the Artemis program, but not only. Indeed, at the recent joint meeting involving the Space Studies Board and the Board on Physics and Astronomy, of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Musk said nearly a thousand of these vehicles will be needed to colonize Mars in the medium term.
To sustain that many launches, SpaceX therefore aims to manufacture a large number of Raptors in the years to come. However, this is where the shoe pinches. According to a recent email Musk sent to SpaceX employees over Thanksgiving weekend, obtained by Space Explored, the company is apparently not on track to take on this challenge for now.
In this note, Musk describes a crisis "much worse than it seemed a few weeks ago ". He explains giving up his Thanksgiving weekend to work on the Raptors production line and implores all SpaceX employees to participate if they can.
“Unless you have critical family issues or are physically unable to return to Hawthorne [SpaceX Headquarters]we'll need everyone on deck to recover from what is, frankly, a disaster “, the email reads.
Musk also recalls that the Starship will be needed to launch version 2 of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites. The company has already deployed more than 1,600 V1 satellites, as well as a hundred of the most advanced V1.5 range, with its Falcon 9 rocket. On the other hand, this launcher (which relies on Merlin engines) will not be able to not deliver the largest V2 satellites, which are essential for the company.
Indeed, the company is preparing to produce millions of terminals per year (SpaceX's "internet antennas"), which will consume massive capital. At the same time, the V2 satellites will have to manage bandwidth demand. If these satellites are not placed in orbit, then the terminals will be useless.
In his email, Musk also puts a lot of pressure on his employees. “We are facing a real risk of bankruptcy if we cannot achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year “, can we read.
In the meantime, the company is preparing to launch the first orbital test flight of its program as early as January or February, provided the United States Federal Aviation Administration closes its environmental review of the launch site by the end of the year.
