Overview
- SpaceX said in its IPO filing that it has invested more than $15 billion in Starship, with $3 billion of space R&D in 2025 devoted entirely to the program after $1.8 billion the year before.
- The next flight, targeted for May, will debut a Version 3 prototype described by company engineers as a clean‑sheet design built for orbital flight, longer stays in space, and future crewed lunar landings.
- SpaceX aims to start launching its next‑generation Starlink V3 satellites in the second half of 2026 using Starship, which the filing says can carry about 60 of the larger spacecraft per mission.
- Key hurdles remain before routine operations, including an untested fuel transfer in orbit and heavy ground demands such as the FAA‑estimated 244 tanker trucks of natural gas and about one million gallons of water per launch.
- Since 2023, Starship has flown 11 tests that mixed failures with gains, including reusing Super Heavy boosters, catching a returning booster with launch‑tower arms, and deploying mock satellites, steps viewed as groundwork for NASA’s Artemis moon lander variant.