Elon Musk Says SpaceX On Track To Launch 80% Of Earth's Payloads In 2023, Dominating Competitors

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday took to X to announce that his rocket manufacturing company is tracking to lift 80% of all Earth’s payload to orbit this year, in line with his forecast from as early as March.

What Happened: Musk also shared an infographic from analytics firm Bryce Tech which pegged the spacecraft upmass launched by SpaceX in the third quarter at a whopping 381,278 kgs. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) launched the second most payload at 24,560 kg, followed close at hand by Roscosmos which launched 17,475 kgs. While SpaceX completed 26 launches in the third quarter, CASC had 12 and Roscosmos merely 4.

As per Bryce tech data, the following are the kgs of spacecraft upmass carried by the major three ‘competitors’ in the past three quarters:

Unsurprisingly, the most spacecraft launched by Musk’s company in the quarter were communication satellites for its Starlink constellation. Starlink provides broadband connectivity with the help of a network of satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Why It Matters: Musk first revealed the 80% payload goal as early as March this year. “Provided there is no serious launch anomaly, SpaceX will deliver 80% of Earth's payload to orbit this year," Musk then said.

SpaceX completed 26 launches in 2020, 31 in 2021, and nearly doubled it to 61 last year. As for this year, Musk said in March that the rocket manufacturing company is eyeing over 90 launches.

Photo by Sundry Photography on Shutterstock

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