Despite hutting hurdles, SpaceX believes the Starship is on track as far as the Mars mission is concerned but timelines remain uncertain…
It’s been a while since the Starship – SpaceX’s magnum opus – ceased to be just a concept. Test flights that had commenced since the start of 2025 as well as Elon Musk’s bold announcements have been clear indications that the company is fast moving to the stage of reusable orbital launches – and ultimately the much-awaited mission to Mars.
But between that touchdown on the red planet and now stand a bunch of hurdles: in the form of engineering hurdles, regulatory oversight and uncertain timelines. Here’s a look into where the program stands…
The Mars mission: a robot crew flight on the cards?
Musk has always been bullish on the Mars mission for 2026. His plan was to launch the Starship towards Mars by the end of 2026 with an Optimus humanoid robot. He was recently quoted as saying there is a “slight chance” of the Starship heading for Mars with Optimus by November or December of next year.
But there are also conflicting claims that the company is now looking at 2028 as a realistic timeline for an uncrewed mission and following that up with a crewed one by 2030.
Reuseable rockets: will this be a technological breakthrough?
One of the major differentiators of the Starship mission is the promise of full reusability. Musk has claimed that a “bigger, fully reusable Starship” is slated for 2026. The current Block 2 version carries 35 tonnes of payload to orbit but the new version will supposedly carry over 100 tonnes.
Earlier in October, SpaceX completed the 11th test flight of the Starship which was a success. This highlights the iterative, learn by design model that SpaceX is following.
Milestones and setbacks: how are the test flights faring?
Starship’s journey so far has been anything but easy. The 11th test flight was a success but several of the previous ones have not been. The Starbase in Texas has seen more failed attempts than successes so far, especially in the initial launches.
One of the earlier test flights ended with a failure of the upper stage due to a propellant leak. But SpaceX have been resilient and focussed on the mission. They have been following the cycle of launch, learn, fix and launch again. Which is the ideal approach for a cutting-edge aerospace program which is full of risk but has managed to stick to schedule.
What this means for Mars and the space ecosystem
If Starship is indeed successful in pulling off reuse, this could open up a whole new world of possibilities. For a Mars mission, a reusable rocket would significantly reduce costs and open up the possibility of supply and return missions, not just a one-off probe.
As far-fetched as it sounds, Musk has previously been quoted as saying that the colonisation of Mars would make humanity “multi planetary”. Beyond the Mars mission, the Starship’s capacity to carry large payloads, deploy satellites and serve lunar missions via Artemis III would make SpaceX the pioneers to reshape space access.
But as great as all this sounds, there are some hurdles to be overcome as well. Orbit refuelling, which is essential for deep-space missions, is still unproven at this scale. The reuse of the heat shield and the turnaround of the rocket are also theoretical at this stage. Time will tell if this will actually come to fruition.
The Last Word
If things go according to plan, SpaceX are on the verge of stepping into unchartered spatial terrain. They are at the confluence of high human ambition and deep engineering. If they can indeed launch robots, and eventually humans, to Mars, they would have achieved something that has only been in science fiction movies so far.
The next few years will tell if Musk will realise his dream and whether Starship will become the pioneer of interplanetary travel. All eyes are on them.
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