Elon Musk reveals SpaceX plans to build satellite factories on the moon
SMRTR summary
Robotic satellite factories on the moon. That's Elon Musk's latest pitch to SpaceX investors, and he says it will happen "faster than you think."
The vision came during an investor call this past Tuesday, where Musk laid out an ambitious path to profitability for the newly public company, which posted a staggering $542 million loss from its space launch sector in its first quarter.
The lunar factory idea isn't pure fantasy. Patrick Suermann, a construction science professor at Texas A&M, says the moon's lower gravity means dramatically less fuel needed to launch satellites, calling it "the most expensive part of a launch."
Keeping SpaceX afloat right now is Starlink, whose connectivity revenues helped offset those losses. Musk also highlighted two recent Starship test flights, with a 14th test tentatively scheduled for late August.
And if you're wondering about scale, Musk envisions Starship eventually launching ten million tons to orbit annually, calling its significance almost impossible to explain.
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