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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: Starship prototype to have 3 Raptors and “mirror finish”

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk visited the South Texas site where Starship's first prototype is being built on December 23rd. (Elon Musk)

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Taking to Twitter once more to reveal additional information about SpaceX’s radically changing BFR/Starship prototype program, CEO Elon Musk has made an unexpected visit to the company’s South Texas BFR testing facilities to oversee rapid progress with a low-fidelity hop test prototype of the orbital Starship spacecraft.

Included in a handful of replies that followed the tweeted image, Musk described some of the key advantages of a stainless steel Starship – including mirror-like thermal reflectivity for hot reentries and a “usable” strength-to-mass ratio superior to carbon fiber – as well as features of prototype cousin.

While the CEO did imply on Saturday that the Mars-focused Raptor engine had been what he described as “radically redesigned”, Musk’s statement that the Starship hopper will feature three Raptor engines does at least set a lower bound for the ship’s maximum gross takeoff weight when the time comes for it to take flight.

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While the suggestion that Raptor’s turbopumps (basically fuel pumps) would need at least 100,000 HP per engine seems to indicate that the flight design’s thrust has been appreciably uprated, a past figure of ~2000 kN (450,000 lbf) per engine suggests that Starship V0.1 could weigh as much as an entire Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket (~1.2 million pounds, 550,000 kg) and still having a solid 80-100% of Falcon 9’s liftoff thrust. Put simply, the rocket that appears to be coming together in the boonies of South Texas could rival almost any other liquid fuel rocket booster in service, while still being the testbed for BFR’s upper stage alone.

While it’s ambiguous if several additional comments applied to the Starship prototype, the final product, or both, Musk also indicated that some of the biggest benefits of a shift away from carbon composites to stainless steel would be relative ease with which the material handles extreme heating. Thanks to the fact that stainless steel can ultimately be polished to mirror-like levels of reflectivity and that mirrors are some of the most efficient reflectors of thermal energy (heat), shiny and unpainted steel would ultimately perform far better than carbon composites and could end up requiring “much less” heat shielding for the same performance.

 

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Perhaps most unintuitive is the fact that steel can apparently beat carbon composites when it comes to usable strength-to-weight ratios at supercool temperatures. According to Musk, steel also performs “vastly better” at high temperatures and appreciably better at room temperatures. A comment made on Saturday may lend additional credence to what seems at face value to contradict basic material intuition –  at least some of the stainless steel SpaceX is examing would be a special (presumably SpaceX-engineered) alloy that has undergone what is known as cryogenic treatment, in which metals are subjected to extremely cold conditions to create some seriously unintuitive properties. Ultimately, cold-formed/worked or cryo-treated steel can be dramatically lighter and more wear-resistant than traditional hot-rolled steel.

Combined with advanced new alloys and a uniquely strong handle on working with supercool propellant (likely transferable to cold-forming steel), SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk could have a true breakthrough on their hands, especially if it turns out that a great deal of deep thought, analysis, and refinement fed into these “radical” design changes. With Starship Alpha’s hop tests potentially beginning as early as March 2019, we won’t have long to wait to find out.


For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Starship’s next chapter: SpaceX eyes tower catch after flawless Flight 11

Elon Musk has revealed the tentative timeframe for Starship’s next milestone that would push the spacecraft’s reusability to a whole new level. 

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk has revealed the tentative timeframe for Starship’s next milestone that would push the spacecraft’s reusability to a whole new level. 

Following Flight 11’s flawless mission, Musk noted on X that SpaceX will be aiming to catch the Starship Upper Stage with its launch tower as early as spring 2026. This should pave the way for SpaceX to start optimizing Starship for maximum reusability.

Flight 11 closes the Starship V2 chapter on a high note

Starship’s eleventh flight, which launched from Starbase, Texas, achieved every major mission objective. The Super Heavy booster completed a successful ascent, hover, and soft splashdown in the Gulf of America, while the upper stage executed an orbit burn, deployed Starlink simulators, and returned with a controlled reentry over the Indian Ocean.

This mission officially closed the chapter on the second-generation Starship and first-generation Super Heavy booster, and it set the stage for a redesigned vehicle built for orbital payload missions, propellant transfer, and beyond. It should be noted that Elon Musk has mentioned on X that Starship V3, at least if things go well, might be capable of reaching Mars.

Elon Musk confirms tower catch attempt set for spring

After Flight 11’s success, Musk confirmed that SpaceX will attempt to catch the Starship Upper Stage with its launch tower arms, fondly dubbed by the spaceflight community as “chopsticks,” in the coming months. Musk’s announcement came as a response to an X user who asked when the tower could start catching the Starship Upper Stage. In his reply, Musk simply wrote “Springtime.” 

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Starship’s reusability is a key feature of the spacecraft, with SpaceX aiming to achieve a launch cadence that is almost comparable to conventional aircraft. For such a scenario to be feasible, launch tower catches of both Starship’s Upper Stage and its Super Heavy booster have to be routine.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship V2 one final time

The mission will test reentry dynamics, new landing burn configurations, and heat-shield upgrades.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

SpaceX is preparing to launch its final Starship V2 rocket on October 13, 2025. The launch closes the curtain on Starship V2 and marks the start of the ambitious spacecraft’s V3 era. 

Liftoff for Flight 11 is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET from Starbase in South Texas, with a 75-minute launch window. The mission will test reentry dynamics, new landing burn configurations, and heat-shield upgrades ahead of the transition to the next-generation Starship V3.

Starship V3 and beyond

Elon Musk confirmed on X that Starship V3 is already in production and could be “built & tested” and perhaps even flown before the end of 2025. The new version is expected to feature major performance and scale improvements, with Musk stating that Starship V3, provided that things go well, might be capable of reaching Mars, though V4 is more likely to perform a full-scale mission to the red planet. 

“Only one more V2 left to launch,” Musk wrote back in August following Starship’s successful Flight 10 mission. In another post, Musk stated that “Starship V3 is a massive upgrade from the current V2 and should be through production and testing by end of year, with heavy flight activity next year.”

Starship V2’s final mission

Flight 11 is designed to push the limits of Starship V2. SpaceX engineers have intentionally removed heat-shield tiles in vulnerable areas to analyze how the vehicle handles atmospheric reentry under stress, as noted in a Space.com report. The test will also refine subsonic guidance algorithms and new landing burn sequences for the Super Heavy booster that would be used for Starship V3.

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“Super Heavy will ignite 13 engines at the start of the landing burn and then transition to a new configuration with five engines running for the divert phase. Previously done with three engines, the planned baseline for V3 Super Heavy will use five engines during the section of the burn responsible for fine-tuning the booster’s path, adding additional redundancy for spontaneous engine shutdowns. 

“The booster will then transition to its three center engines for the end of the landing burn, entering a full hover while still above the ocean surface, followed by shutdown and dropping into the Gulf of America,” SpaceX wrote in a post on its official website.

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Starlink makes a difference in Philippine province ravaged by typhoon

The Severe Tropical Storm battered the province, leaving communications networks in the area in shambles.

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Credit: Starlink/X

The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is using Starlink to provide connectivity in the municipality of Masbate, which was affected by Severe Tropical Storm Opong (international name Bualoi). 

The Severe Tropical Storm battered the province, leaving communications networks in the area in shambles.

Starlink units enhance connectivity

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda visited the province to assess internet and communications infrastructure and deliver 10 additional Starlink satellite units, according to the Philippine News Agency. The is move aimed at strengthening emergency response and restore digital access to the area.

Aguda met with Masbate Governor Richard Kho during his visit and joined telecommunications representatives in inspecting provincial offices, free charging stations, and Wi-Fi connectivity sites for residents. 

According to DICT officer-in-charge Rachel Ann Grabador, three Starlink units, 10 routers, and a 2kW solar-powered station have already been deployed in the province following the typhoon. The units have been installed at key facilities such as Masbate Airport’s communications tower and the Masbate Provincial Hospital’s administrative office. 

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Game-changing technology

Thanks to its global coverage and its capability to provide high-speed internet connectivity even in remote areas, Starlink has become the best communications solution that can be deployed in the aftermath of natural disasters. Its low-cost kits, which are capable of of providing fast internet speeds, are also portable, making them easy to deploy in areas that are damaged by natural disasters.

As noted in a Space.com report, there are currently 8,475 Starlink satellites in orbit, of which 8,460 are working, as of September 25, 2025. Initially, SpaceX had filed documents with International regulators to place about 4,000 Starlink satellites in Low Earth Orbit. Over time, however, the number of planned Starlink satellites has grown, with SpaceX aiming to launch as many as 42,000 Starlink satellites to fully connect the globe.

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