--- title: "Elon Musk: Starship Floating Launchpad to Start Operation by “End of Year”" description: "According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, one of the company's floating platforms could be \"in limited operation by end of year.\"" date: "2021-02-24" modified: "2021-02-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-starship-floating-launchpad-start-operation-end-of-year" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk: Starship Floating Launchpad to Start Operation by “End of Year” ![According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, one of the company's floating platforms could be "in limited operation by end of year."]() *\Image: Tony Webster\* ## Floating Launch Pads Earlier this year, SpaceX [bought two massive retired oil rigs]() and nicknamed them Phobos and Deimos after the two moons of Mars. The company is hoping to turn them into two floating launch pads for its Mars-bound Starship spacecraft that is [currently being developed]() at fever pitch. Now, according to a [recent tweet]() by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, one of the platforms could be "in limited operation by end of year." It sounds, though, like it'll be a costly endeavor. "I hope we don’t go bankrupt building them!" [Musk added](). ## Limited Operations The billionaire also elaborated on how the massive, 165-foot spacecraft would even get to a platform floating at sea. "They will fly there from our launch site," Musk explained in a [separate tweet](). Starship isn't only designed to take up to 100 passengers to faraway destinations in the outer reaches of our solar system. SpaceX is hoping to turn the rocket into a [near-space transportation network]() as well that can get you from one side of the Earth to the other in a matter of roughly an hour. According to Musk, platforms will be "stationed around the world" to facilitate just that. Having the launch pads floating in the water a distance away from population centers would also end up being less disruptive in terms of noise. Musk is no stranger to overpromising and setting unrealistic deadlines. But if recent advancements in his space company's development of Starship are anything to go by, we should expect the company to have at least something to show by the end of the year. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX’s floating oil rig spaceship launch pad could be operating later this year according to Elon Musk]() \[*TechCrunch*\] **More on Starship:** *[Elon Musk: “Good Chance” SpaceX Starship Will Fly This Week]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()