. 24/7 Space News .
ROCKET SCIENCE
Elon Musk: SpaceX faces possible bankruptcy because of engine woes
by Clyde Hughes
Washington DC (UPI) Nov 30, 2021

SpaceX founder Elon Musk told his employees the space company faces a "genuine risk of bankruptcy" because of its struggles in developing its engine for its Starship flights.

In an email obtained by the website Space Explored, Musk called the company's struggle with its Raptor engine production at its base in Boca Chica, Texas, a "crisis." The Starship is a hulking space vehicle created to deliver goods and people to the moon and eventually Mars.

"What it comes down to, is that we face a genuine risk of bankruptcy if we can't achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year," Musk said in the email.

Musk canceled a scheduled break he planned to take during Thanksgiving to address the Raptor engine issue.

"Unfortunately, the Raptor production crisis is much worse than it had seemed a few weeks ago," Musk said. "As we have dug into the issues following the exiting of prior senior management, they have unfortunately turned out to be far more severe than was reported. There is no way to sugarcoat this."

Last week, SpaceX's vice president of propulsion Will Hetsley left the company after he was removed from the Raptor engine project for lack of progress, CNBC reported. Musk recently said that a "complete design overall" of the engine was necessary."

On Nov. 17, Musk said he hoped SpaceX would conduct its first orbital flight of the Starship in January or February, pending regulatory approval by the Federal Aviation Administration as well as ironing out technical issues.

SpaceX has a lot riding on the line with the engines. It recently beat out Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin for a $2.9 billion NASA contract and has a valuation of more than $100 billion while employing 7,000 people.


Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


ROCKET SCIENCE
Musk says first orbital flight for Moon rocket in early 2022
Washington (AFP) Nov 18, 2021
Elon Musk said Wednesday that the Starship developed by his company SpaceX and selected by NASA for the Americans' return to the Moon would attempt its first orbital flight early next year. "We'll do a bunch of tests in December and hopefully launch in January," Musk said in a talk for the National Academies Space Studies Board. "There's a lot of risk associated with this first launch," he said. "So I would not say that it is likely to be successful, but I think we will make a lot of progress." ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ROCKET SCIENCE
Dragons-Eye View

Russia's new docking module arrives at ISS

Russia's Prichal module docks at ISS

Thales Alenia Space invests in advanced technology for human space flight

ROCKET SCIENCE
Pulsar Fusion Demonstrates Green Mach-7 rocket in Switzerland

Elon Musk: SpaceX faces possible bankruptcy because of engine woes

SpaceX Starlink launch from Florida delayed to Thursday

Rocket Lab readies Electron for lift-off in fastest launch turnaround yet

ROCKET SCIENCE
Guiding Tianwen-1 to China's first successful Mars rover landing

Brief presence of water in Arabia Terra on Mars

Eyes on the Sky

Onwards and Sidewards for Curiosity on Sol 3313

ROCKET SCIENCE
Rocket industrial park put into operation in Wuhan

Tianzhou cargo craft to help advance science

Chinese astronauts' EVAs to help extend mechanical arm

Astronaut becomes first Chinese woman to spacewalk

ROCKET SCIENCE
FCC Validates SES Phase I Accelerated C-band Clearing and Relocation Certification

ESA helps Greece to boost its space investments

Carrier rocket takes off from Sichuan province

Apply now to the brand new ESA Junior Professional Programme!

ROCKET SCIENCE
Astroscale space debris removal leaders announce series F raises $109 million

ISRO rife with speculation about human space mission centre, IN-SPACe shift

NASA delays spacewalk to replace antenna at ISS due to debris danger

First LoRa message bounced off the moon

ROCKET SCIENCE
Orbital harmony limits late arrival of water on TRAPPIST-1 planets

New possibilities for life at the bottom of Earth and other Oceanic Worlds

Prototype SETI hardware gets first data from VLA

Hubble Finds Flame Nebula's Searing Stars May Halt Planet Formation

ROCKET SCIENCE
Are Water Plumes Spraying from Europa

Science results offer first 3D view of Jupiter's atmosphere

Juno peers deep into Jupiter's colorful belts and zones

Scientists find strange black 'superionic ice' that could exist inside other planets









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.