SpaceX is also rapidly iterating on booster designs, so the craft that lands today may not be the one it hopes to fly again, preferring to use an improved model. For these reasons, Super Heavy’s reflying will probably be at least a year away.
Ground system and LOX
I won’t put a date on this because it will happen gradually over time. But preparing for Starship’s frequent launches will be a major hurdle in the coming years.
Musk said SpaceX initially plans to build two launch towers in South Texas and two in Florida. Presumably, this is the basic ground infrastructure needed to support the Artemis program and the multiple refueling flights needed to enable a lunar landing. In order to build these four towers and achieve a high frequency of launches, SpaceX will have to work with the U.S. Space Force in Florida and process this by clearing environmental reviews with the Federal Aviation Administration. There are still many documents required.
Another important but underappreciated issue is merchandise. At launch, the Super Heavy booster alone will carry 7.5 million pounds (3,400 tons) of cryogenic propellant. Starship requires about a third. That sounds like a lot. Liquid oxygen is a large part of this, and each launch has a severe impact on U.S. liquid oxygen production for use by a variety of customers, including hospitals.
In other words, launching four Starship rockets in one day would consume all of the nation’s liquid oxygen capacity for that day. Therefore, SpaceX must find a way to scale up liquid oxygen production and secure large supplies for both its future Starship launch facilities in South Texas and Florida.
Long flight test (late 2026)
NASA has consistently incorporated this milestone into the Manned Landing System schedule since the first version of the timeline was released in August 2021. (At the time, the propellant transfer test was scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2022, and the long-duration flight was scheduled for about 6 months, so about 3 years late).
