SpaceX has successfully completed the flight of the SN8 prototype of its Starship rocket. Well, almost successfully. Alas, the Starship exploded on impact with the ground. However its takeoff, flight to a height of eight miles, belly flop maneuver at the highest point of its trip, and its descent were perfect. Then, at the last second, the vehicle and the earth had a minor disagreement over where the air ended and the solid stuff began.   

Every catastrophe of this sort teaches SpaceX a lesson, a lesson from which the next prototype will learn. And that next prototype is waiting in the wings, fully assembled, ready to roll down highway 4 to the launch pad.

The Space Development Steering Committee congratulates SpaceX on this almost perfect flight of a prototype whose final rocket will change the relationship between life on earth and the planets.

The SpaceX flight has created quite a stir within the space advocacy community. LunarCOTS.com/congrats provides links to the congratulatory statements of many space organizations and individuals who have congratulated SpaceX on its achievement.

Why has this flight ignited such excitement? Starship isn’t just the latest rocket. It represents a turning point in human history. It is intended to be the space ship that takes up to a hundred passengers at a time beyond Earth to the Moon and Mars. In fact, Elon Musk intends to use it to build the first cities on the red planet.

More milestones await in the development of the Starship. Other partially-assembled Starship prototypes are just waiting for their chance to challenge the skies. And the 31-engine booster intended to lift the final version of the Starship is under construction. The final version of the Starship could reach orbit within a year.

The Space Development Steering Committee calls upon space policy decision makers at NASA, in the Congress, and in the Senate to take full advantage of the Starship’s ability to carry 100 passengers or 100 tons of cargo. This new capability can lower the costs and increase the size of NASA missions of the near future. In fact, it’s time for NASA to conceive its missions with the Starship’s ability to launch huge payloads in mind. And to launch them at a fraction of the traditional cost.

The Space Development Steering Committee is convinced that the SpaceX Starship will utterly change the nature of what NASA and America can achieve.