SpaceX's Starship & the Geopolitical Implications of Reusable Rockets

US-based SpaceX’ Starship program and its implications on geopolitics…

- SpaceX continues developing its Starship program after its 2nd integrated flight test (IFT2) on September 18, 2023;

- Starship, when operational, will be the first fully reusable launch system able to recover and reuse both the 1st stage booster like SpaceX’ current Falcon family of rockets, but also the 2nd stage;

- Starship is also the largest, most powerful launch system on Earth at the moment;

- Reusability drives costs down and enables nations with access to such systems to establish orbital infrastructure quicker, cheaper, and on larger scales;

- SpaceX’ Falcon 9 rockets have already allowed SpaceX to create the Starlink constellation of satellites providing lower-latency satellite communication with greater coverage than any other current or even planned networks;

- In the event of conflict in space where nations begin targeting navigational, surveillance, and communication satellites, the nation with the ability to launch new satellites into space quicker and cheaper will have a clear advantage;

- Resources in the Earth’s solar system vastly dwarf resources found on Earth and can support a multiplanetary civilization on a scale of size and abundance hitherto unimaginable, reusability is the key to tapping this potential;

References:

NSF - After upgrades, Starship achieves numerous successes during second test flight (November 17, 2023):
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/11/ift-2-launch/
Our World in Data - Cost of space launches to low Earth orbit:
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cost-space-launches-low-earth-orbit

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