Ars: You mentioned upgraded engines solving the problem with Starship’s upper stage. What’s the timeline on flying Raptor 3 engines?
Musk: That’s end of the year. The upgraded Raptors have a complete redesign of the aft end of the booster and the ship. So, because we don’t need the heat shield around the upper portion of the engine, it greatly simplifies the base of the booster and the ship.
Yeah, I’ve never understood this:
So once you have the transportation system to Mars, then there’s a vast set of opportunities that open up to do anything on the surface of Mars, which includes, you know, doing everything from building a semiconductor fab to a pizza joint, basically building a civilization. So we want to solve the transport problem, and that can enable philanthropists and entrepreneurs to do things on Mars, which is everything needed for civilization. Look at, say, California. There were very few people in California until the Union Pacific was completed, and then California became the most populous state in the nation.
Leave aside the fact that California exploded in population long before the UP was completed (little thing called the Gold Rush twenty years earlier), and its periods of greater growth came decades later in the early 1900’s.
The real point is that unlike California, Mars has absolutely nothing that we want. California is blessed with natural resources, a wonderful climate, and a huge coastline that’s useful for commerce and shipping. Mars has none of that.
There’s no benefit to colonizing Mars. There’s a reason why we haven’t colonized the Mojave desert, and it’s not because we lack the ability to provide fast transportation there. It’s because it’s a place that’s ill-suited for nearly all human activity. So there’s no reason anyone would want to locate there.
Mars is 1000x worse than the Mojave desert in terms of fitness for human settlement. What “opportunities” exist there for ordinary human activities? I can see a research and exploration outpost, of course - like what we have in Antarctica. But an actual colony? Something with pizza joints?
And everything you bring with you, food water, tools, pizza dough, will cost about $100K/pound.
Shhhh.
What are you talking about?
Musk going to Mars is probably his best idea (after whatever rock is next further distant).
Certain genius just can’t be explained to the rest of us.