Elon Musk Sets Goal Of Over 1 Million Tons Of Payload To Orbit Per Year With Starship

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has set an ambitious target of delivering 1 million tons of orbital payload in the future with the commercial space flight giant's Starship rocket.

1 Million Per Year

On Wednesday, user @xdNiBoR posted on the social media platform X, comparing the launch attempts made by SpaceX in comparison to those of other companies in the U.S., which showcased the number of attempts in favor of SpaceX. "I can't wait to see how this graph looks in 5 years when Starship is operational," the user said.

Responding to the user, Musk laid out an ambitious target for SpaceX once Starship becomes operational. ">1M tons/year of payload to orbit is the goal," he said in the response.

Starship Launches, SpaceX IPO

Recently, Musk reaffirmed his belief in SpaceX's Starship rocket, outlining that in three years, the space flight company aims to launch the rocket every hour. The company has recently shifted its focus away from Mars and onto the Moon.

Musk also seemingly confirmed rumors of SpaceX targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation at its IPO, as the company also recently acquired Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI, with the combined SpaceX-xAI entity reaching a reported valuation of $1.25 trillion.

NASA's SLS Pivot

Meanwhile, NASA is reportedly pivoting away from Boeing Co.'s (NYSE:BA) Exploration Upper Stage component from the SLS Launch Vehicle for the Artemis Mission to the Moon in favor of Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp's (NYSE:LMT) Vulcan rocket’s Centaur V, built by the companies' joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA).

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