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Hi everybody. 
Welcome back to another episode 

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of the Elon Musk podcast. 
Today we're peeling back the 

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curtain a little bit on Spacex's
grand plans and a little bit of 

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drama that's going on with the 
next generation of their 

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spacecraft. 
The Starship. 

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Seems like Elon Musk and the 
SpaceX team are also pushing 

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boundaries down at Boca Chica 
Starbase, Texas. 

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From successfully landing and 
reusing Falcon 9 rocket boosters

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to planning uncrued missions to 
Mars, this company has been 

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hitting milestone after 
milestone and continues to 

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progress day in, day out. 
But things haven't always moved 

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smoothly, and timelines often 
stretch beyond original 

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projections. 
In this episode, we'll discuss 

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the hurdles, updates, and future
plans of Spacex's Starship. 

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Now, SpaceX has established 
itself as a pioneer in the 

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commercial space sector. 
Last year, the company managed 

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to conduct 70 launches using 
Falcon 9 rockets, each featuring

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a reusable booster stage, and 
this innovation and reusability 

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has significantly cut down 
costs, allowing for more 

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frequent launch schedules. 
However, Musk is not a stranger 

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to setbacks. 
Promises of timelines often 

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outpace actual progress, and 
ambitious projects can run into 

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delays. 
Back in 2016, during an 

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International Astronomical 
Congress and Guadalajara, 

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Mexico, Musk revealed Spacex's 
initial designs for what was 

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then called the Interplanetary 
Transport System or the ITS aim 

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was for the first uncrewed 
landing on Mars to occur in 

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2022, followed by the 1st flight
with people on board in 2024. 

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Fast forward to today, and 
although there has been a test 

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flight of Starship, it didn't go
very smoothly. 

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The spacecraft lost control 
during its ascent, leading to 

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its detonation for safety 
reasons. 

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Now a second Starship is already
on standby. 

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According to Musk, the next move
now depends on the Federal 

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Aviation Administration, which 
is expected to issue a new 

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launch license sometime soon, 
And Musk shared some updates on 

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Starship design. 
The second stage engines will 

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ignite before separation from 
the booster, this time, a 

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procedure known as hot staging, 
designed for maximum efficiency.

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But it's also a complicated 
operation that could lead to 

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unexpected challenges. 
And while SpaceX has been known 

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for its engineering progress, 
navigating through regulatory 

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frameworks remains very 
challenging. 

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The company is currently 
awaiting approval from the FAA 

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for the next IFT 2 Starship test
flight from Boca Chica Starbase,

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Texas. 
And this isn't the only 

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regulatory hurdle, though. 
The US Fish and Wildlife Service

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has received a final biological 
assessment from the FAA, 

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initiating a 30 day review 
period that could be extended to

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the spring of 2024 under certain
conditions and according to the 

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Fish and Wildlife Service, 
reinitiation of formal 

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consultation under the 
Endangered Species Act is 

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necessary when there's 
significant change in a project 

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and its impacts. 
This review is a result of 

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Spacex's newly implemented Water
Dillard system, part of a list 

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of 63 corrective actions 
recommended after the 

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unsuccessful launch of the first
Starship test flight. 

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This new system has already been
deployed during static fire 

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tests of Booster 9, which is set
to be the next SpaceX launch 

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vehicle, and Elon Musk is no 
longer explicitly stating that 

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humans will be on Mars by 2024. 
However, he does have other 

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ambitious plans for Starship. 
One such goal is the quick turn 

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around between launches, which 
would involve catching the Super

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heavy booster in the Starship 
upper stage in mid air after 

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they returned from the missions.
Musk says that it's a decent 

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chance of this happening within 
the next year. 

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Now. 
Additionally, SpaceX is planning

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to launch its next generation 
Starlink satellites using 

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expendable versions of the 
Starship. 

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Now, the question that still 
remains unanswered is when will 

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Starship land NASA astronauts on
the moon? 

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While Musk acknowledged that a 
lunar Lander version is in the 

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works, he emphasized that the 
design will not deviate much 

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from a spacecraft intended for 
Mars missions. 

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Now Artemis 3, NASA's program to
land astronauts on the moon, is 

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currently scheduled for late 
2025, but it could be pushed 

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back further. 
Spacex's Starship was chosen as 

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the human landing system for 
this mission, and a senior 

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SpaceX official noted that there
is a backlog with FAA work 

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leading to delays in the 
licensing progress in the 

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process and Starship. 
This could have ripple effects 

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in the art of his program's 
timeline as well, and there's 

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also political pressure mounting
for SpaceX, especially as its 

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vice president of build and 
flight reliability is set to 

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testify before the Senate 
Subcommittee on Space and 

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Science. 
This hearing will likely cover a

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range of issues, from suborbital
flights to lunar surface 

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habitats, and is crucial for 
SpaceX. 

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As it continues to push the 
envelope in space exploration 

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technologies. 
And in the labyrinth of these 

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regulations and bureaucratic 
obstacles, SpaceX is finding 

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itself at the crossroads of 
innovation and policy. 

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This testimony isn't just about 
SpaceX, it's a marker for the 

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entire industries. 
Companies like Blue Origin, 

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Virgin Galactic, and others will
also weigh in shaping the 

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conversation from suborbital 
tourism to long term lunar 

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habitation. 
Now, this juncture is 

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particularly pivotal for 
Spacex's Starship program. 

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The Human Landing system for 
NASA's Artemis missions is in 

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play here, and according to 
SpaceX officials, the snail's 

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pace of FAA approvals has become
a critical path item, putting 

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pressure on an already 
challenging Artemis timeline. 

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Now, the need for a series of 
demonstration flights, ranging 

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from ship to ship refueling to 
uncrewed lunar landings means 

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that the FAA's foot dragging 
could stretch these critical 

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months into very critical years.
And to navigate these hurdles, 

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SpaceX and its industry 
counterparts will have to 

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advocate not just for the 
individual ventures, but for a 

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more streamlined regulatory 
framework that accommodates the 

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unique demands and potentials of
commercial spaceflight. 

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Now, this is not just about 
reaching Mars or going back to 

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the moon. 
It's about shaping the rules and

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the expectations that will 
govern humanity's access to 

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space for decades to come, not 
just for astronauts, but for 

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normal people like you and me. 
And as SpaceX deals with an ever

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changing timetable subject to 
the whims of regulatory bodies 

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and the realities of 
technological innovation, they 

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find themselves in a challenging
yet pivotal position. 

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Musk's dreams of interplanetary 
travel in a new aerospace 

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exploration hinged not only on 
the hardware his company is so 

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adept at creating, but also on a
broader regulatory environment 

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that is agile enough to keep 
pace with the speed of modern 

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innovation. 
Now, thank you so much for 

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listening to the show today. 
Don't forget to hit the 

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subscribe or the follow button 
on whatever podcast platform 

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you're listening on right now. 
It's free, takes a second, and 

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helps us out tremendously. 
And remember, every episode is 

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10 minutes or less to keep you 
up to date on all things Elon 

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Musk and SpaceX. 
So please take care of 

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yourselves and each other and 
I'll see you in the next one 

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tomorrow.