A plume of exhaust after the SpaceX Starship rocket launched from Starbase, Texas.
Photographer: Sergio Flores/AFP/Getty Images
SpaceX’s Expensive Starship Explosions Are Starting to Add Up
Plagued by failed test flights, Elon Musk’s space company is under pressure to show progress in its massive rocket program. How long will investors keep the faith?
When one of SpaceX’s Starship vehicles burst into flames during a routine fueling test in June, the Elon Musk-led company decided it was time to bring in reinforcements.
Shortly after the incident, roughly 20% of the engineering group working on the company’s flagship Falcon 9 program were reassigned for six months to Starship, a reusable rocket Musk hopes will someday carry humans back to the moon and to Mars, according to people familiar with the company’s planning.