Space Cargo via Starship Will Be Cheaper Than Air Freight

Elon Musk announced that the cost of delivering cargo to space via the Starship rocket will be cheaper than air freight in the future. The main revolutionary aspect of the Starship project is that it will be the world's first fully reusable orbital rocket. Musk emphasized that vehicles like cars, airplanes, or ships are considered affordable because they are used multiple times, whereas such capability has not existed in rocket technology until now. According to Ixbt.com reports .

The head of SpaceX stated that the Falcon 9 rocket has covered part of this path, but Starship will achieve full reusability. Once the system is fully operational, the cost of launching cargo into orbit will depend solely on fuel prices. Starship uses liquid oxygen and methane as fuel, which is significantly cheaper than aviation kerosene.

According to Elon Musk, the full reusability of the Starship system is expected to be proven in practice by 2026. If all plans are implemented, the cost of access to space could decrease by 100 times. Currently, the cost of launching 1 kg of cargo into orbit using Falcon 9 has dropped from $18,500 to $1,400, and Starship is expected to reduce this price by another 99 percent.

Currently, the Super Heavy Booster 20 and Ship 20 units are being prepared for the 13th flight at the Starbase spaceport in Texas. Additionally, SpaceX engineers continue to improve the Mechazilla system designed to catch the rocket. Such rockets will launch the next generation of Starlink satellites into orbit in the future, increasing the bandwidth of the global internet network several times over.