---
title: "Elon Musk: “Starship Update Coming in 3 Weeks”"
description: "According to Elon Musk, SpaceX will deliver an update on the Starship spacecraft in three weeks. Learn more about this SpaceX Starship news."
date: "2020-10-02"
modified: "2020-10-07"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-starship-update-coming-3-weeks"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
  - "the digest"
---

# Elon Musk: “Starship Update Coming in 3 Weeks”

![According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the space company will give an update on its Starship spacecraft in about three weeks.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/elon-musk-starship-update-coming-3-weeks.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Starship Update

According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the space company will give an update on its Starship spacecraft in about three weeks.

"The design has coalesced," [Musk tweeted](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1311928474479792129>). "What is presented will actually be what flies to orbit as V1.0 with almost no changes."

SpaceX has been churning out prototype after prototype to get Starship off the ground. Previous prototypes, such as SN5 and SN6, have [already completed](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-hops-starship-prototype-150-meters-second-time>) "hops" to 150 meters (about 500 feet).

## Belly Flop

The company is currently working on SN8, which is being prepared for a much more ambitious [test flight to 12 miles](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-next-starship-launch-12-miles-high>). But there's still no indication when such a test will take place.

The design was recently outfitted [with two flaps](<https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-first-high-altitude-starship-flaps-installed/>) and rolled out onto the launch pad. The flaps will help it slow its descent back down to Earth during a daring "belly-flop" maneuver.

## Lunar Lander

Starship is designed to carry up to 100 passengers or 100 tons to faraway places including the Moon and Mars.

Before — or if — it ultimately makes the long journey to Mars, a lunar lander variant of Starship is [being considered](<https://futurism.com/spacex-nasa-contract-starship-moon-missions>) by NASA to carry American astronauts to the Moon as part of its Artemis program as soon as 2024.

**READ MORE:** [Elon Musk says an update for its Starship spacecraft development program is coming in 3 weeks](<https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/02/elon-musk-says-an-update-for-its-starship-spacecraft-development-program-is-coming-in-3-weeks/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29>) \[*TechCrunch*\]

**More on Starship:** *[Watch a SpaceX Starship Test Tank Explode Spectacularly](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-starship-sn-7-1-explosion>)*

## 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](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)