---
title: "The Air Force Seems to Be Investing Heavily in SpaceX’s Starship"
description: "Though it didn't mention Starship by name, the Air Force says it set aside almost $50 million in tech development related to the spacecraft."
date: "2021-06-01"
modified: "2021-06-01"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/air-force-spacex-starship"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
tags:
  - "military technology"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
  - "the digest"
---

# The Air Force Seems to Be Investing Heavily in SpaceX’s Starship

![Though it didn't mention Starship by name, the Air Force says it set aside almost $50 million in tech development related to the spacecraft.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/spacex-payload-cargo-screenshot.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX (Screenshot) / Futurism\</em\>*

## Wink Wink

In its 462-page "justification book" on how it plans to spend its $200 billion budget, the US Air Force suggested that it's allocating almost $50 million in the development of the SpaceX Starship.

Even though the Air Force didn't mention the Starship by name, it did mention its interest in specific capabilities that only Starship could feasibly provide, *[Ars Technica ](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/06/the-us-military-is-starting-to-get-really-interested-in-starship/>)*[reports](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/06/the-us-military-is-starting-to-get-really-interested-in-starship/>), including rapid cargo delivery [anywhere in the world](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-building-military-rocket-to-ship-weapons-anywhere-world>). While it's not exactly the same as Starship's purported goal of [carrying humans to the Moon](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-spacex-land-uncrewed-starship-moon-before-astronauts>) or Mars, securing military investment could provide the capital SpaceX needs to get there.

## Tangential Investments

The Air Force doesn't plan on investing directly in Starship development or testing, *Ars* reports. But it will put millions into related systems that will help the Air Force best use Starship to rapidly ferry heavy loads around the world. Those systems include ways to rapidly load and unload the rocket, technology to help the rocket land on new surfaces, and research into the possibility of airdropping cargo.

"The Department of the Air Force seeks to leverage the current multi-billion-dollar commercial investment to develop the largest rockets ever, and with full reusability to develop and test the capability to leverage a commercial rocket to deliver AF cargo anywhere on the Earth in less than one hour, with a 100-ton capacity," reads the justification book.

The Air Force's plans to invest tens of millions of dollars in SpaceX — again, the document doesn't refer to the Starship by name, but it seems to be a reasonable assumption — further [secures SpaceX's role](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-force-elon-musk>) as [a dominant player](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/pentagon-commissioned-spacex-build-missile-tracking-satellites>) in the space industry. Even if the money isn't going directly into Starship development, the Air Force's decision to dedicate that kind of funding to Starship-related tech is a very good sign for SpaceX's chances at winning future military contracts. And as *Ars* notes, getting a slice of the military's seemingly-limitless budget will make it a lot easier for the company to pursue its [own, non-militaristic goals](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-spacex-launching-floating-platforms>).

**READ MORE:** [The US military is starting to get really interested in Starship](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/06/the-us-military-is-starting-to-get-really-interested-in-starship/>) \[*Ars Technica*\]

**More on SpaceX:** *[SpaceX IS Building a Military Rocket To Ship Weapons Anywhere in the World](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-building-military-rocket-to-ship-weapons-anywhere-world>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)