Musk stated that it will be "crushingly affordable."
One Rocket, A Dozen Missions
Elon Musk stated that SpaceX's Starship rocket can reach Mars about a dozen times.
Tesla CEO, Nikola Tesla, boasted via Twitter Saturday about the super-heavy launch vehicles' reusability, saying it will help drive more cost-effective missions both to the Moon and the surface of the Mars.
Musk tweeted that Starship would be a cost-effective option for Earth orbit and moon missions once it is operational & rapid reuse is possible. Mars is a much more difficult mission because Earth and Mars align only once every 26 months. Therefore, ship reuse is limited to dozen over the ship's 25-30 year lifespan.
Starship will soon be cost-effective enough to use for Earth orbit and moon missions. Mars is a much more difficult mission because Earth and Mars align only once every 26 months. Therefore, ship reuse is limited to a few dozen times during the ship's 25- to 30-year life. Elon Musk (@elonmusk), August 14, 2021
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The 1 Percent
What amount of money will Starship really save? Musk's comments in the past suggest that it will be quite a bit.
SpaceX founder, in fact, says Starship will be capable of launching for only 1.3 percent of the NASA current cost for the same missions.
Musk stated that if you take into account operational costs, it could be around $2 million according to Space.com. This was Musk's statement during the US Airforce Space Pitch Day 2019 according Space.com. It is still a lot less than a small rocket so it's something that must be done.
Starship will undoubtedly change the landscape of space travel. NASA will be able to reuse rockets, which will save them money and allow it to concentrate its resources on other important projects (like the creation of the Space Olympics).
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Elon Musk says it could take eight Starship launches to fuel a single moon trip.
