--- title: "Elon Musk Expresses Hope Starship Won’t Explode Next Time He Launches It" description: "Elon Musk hopes that SpaceX's Starship won't explode again next time it attempts to launch into orbit — but he's tempering his expectations." date: "2023-10-08" modified: "2023-10-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-starship-explosion-odds" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Expresses Hope Starship Won’t Explode Next Time He Launches It ![Elon Musk hopes that SpaceX's Starship won't explode again next time it attempts to launch into orbit — but he's tempering his expectations.]() *SOUTH PADRE ISLAND , TX - APRIL 20: SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket explodes after launch from Starbase on April 20, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images) \Image: The Washington Post via Getty Images\* ## Fingers Crossed SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is optimistic that his company's mammoth Starship rocket won't explode again the next time he attempts to launch it into orbit — but not saying it won't, either. During a teleconference [appearance at a spaceflight convention in Azerbaijan]() this week, Musk didn't say when, exactly, the next Starship test launch will be, but he did appear to hedge his bets on whether it'll end in yet another fireball. "We think it will work, but we aren't sure if it will work," he told the host of the International Aeronautics Convention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inCc4WMxoNw ## Explosive Tendencies Back in April, SpaceX finally undertook its first orbital flight test of the [multi-billion-dollar Starship](), which had been in the works for [more than a decade](). But it [blew up on April 20]() — when else? — after its self-destruct mechanism destroyed both stages of the rocket ([some experts, though, have insisted]() it was a success all the same.) Since that explosive first attempt, it's been unclear when SpaceX would try again. In early May, Musk said the company could be ready for a second Starship launch in as few as [six to eight weeks](), but as with many of his promised timelines, that clearly didn't happen. Though the spaceflight company's bombastic CEO keeps saying he's [ready to relaunch](), federal regulators — who were not at all happy with the first attempt — have [cautioned SpaceX to pump the breaks]() while they complete their investigations. To correct the mishaps of the first Starship launch, Musk said at the IAF conference that SpaceX is developing a "hot stage" system that will ignite the rocket's second stage before it separates from the first. "I'd say that's the riskiest part of the flight," the South African-born billionaire said. "If the engines light and the ship doesn't blow itself up during staging, then I think we've got a decent chance of reaching orbit." Those odds probably wouldn't work well in Vegas or by NASA's standards, but in Musk's world, a "decent" shot is apparently good enough to bet on. **More on Musk:** *[Grimes Just Sued Elon Musk Over Their Kids]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()