--- title: "Elon Musk Unveils Plans for Next Version of Starship" description: "SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed plans for a more efficient and more powerful Version 2 of the company's Starship rocket." date: "2023-11-29" modified: "2023-11-29" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-unveils-plans-next-version-starship" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Unveils Plans for Next Version of Starship ![SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed plans for a more efficient and more powerful Version 2 of the company's Starship rocket.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Next Episode Earlier this month, SpaceX [launched]() its second orbital attempt of its massive Starship rocket. And while the massive rocket and its accompanying Super Heavy booster managed to reach a new record height of 90 miles, the rocket then violently exploded yet again, in what the company [cheekily calls]() a "rapid unscheduled disassembly." SpaceX CEO Elon Musk remains publicly unperturbed by those uneven results, and is already looking to get the next iteration off the ground. Now, he's unveiling plans for a new version of the orbital-class rocket, which he says will have key upgrades over its predecessor. "Version 2 of the ship holds more propellant, reduces dry mass, and improves reliability," Musk [tweeted]() last week. In other words, we're likely in for yet another bombastic show, which could still end in another explosion — or a heroic trip through outer space and [splashdown in Hawaii](). ## Pumping Out Rockets But when Version 2 will take off remains unclear. Last week, Musk [said]() that the company is already working on a "next-gen Raptor engine that is robust enough not to require a heat shield." "Will also have more thrust, higher \[efficiency\] and many other improvements," he added of [the engine](). While SpaceX "could make them faster," Musk added that "engine production is not the limiting factor," indicating that there are plenty of other challenges the company still has to overcome. The executive gave a characteristically optimistic timeline in a November 19 tweet, [predicting]() that "Starship Flight 3 hardware should be ready to fly in three to four weeks," adding that "there are three ships in final production in the high bay," Translating that to a more realistic timeline, we're likely still many months away from watching the next Starship attempt to reach orbit. But in the meantime, SpaceX is already working on a massive "[Starfactory]()" production facility to increase Starship production, meaning that [once it's fully up and running](), the time between launch attempts could start to go down. **More on Starship:** *[SpaceX's Starship Reaches Space, Immediately Explodes]()* ## 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]()