Elon Musk-led SpaceX executive Jon Edwards on Wednesday outlined the bottlenecks the rocket manufacturing company is faced with as it attempts to scale the number of launches in 2024 to a whopping 144.
What Happened: Edwards, Vice President of Falcon Launch Vehicles at SpaceX, said that the main concern at the moment is ramping up production of the rocket’s second stage. The company is looking to accelerate the supply chain and increase the production rate to ship a second stage every two and a half days, Edwards said.
“The supply chain is a very challenging thing to accelerate and sustain…,” the executive said while adding that the rocket manufacturer utilizes tens of thousands of parts and raw materials from different vendors each week. A delay in one part delays the entire mission, he said.
SpaceX is eyeing 144 launches this year or 12 launches every month. However, in order to achieve this, the launch system including pads, recovery, and flight hardware should be capable of withstanding at least 13 launches per month, SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev said. This would enable the company to catch up if there are any slowdowns due to maintenance or even weather.
Why It Matters: SpaceX concluded 2023 with 96 launches, representing a remarkable 57% year-on-year increase. In 2020, SpaceX completed 26 launches, followed by 31 in 2021, and 61 launches in 2022.
SpaceX, unlike Musk's Tesla, is privately held, making its financials harder to access. Based on a recent tender offer, the company is valued at $180 billion.
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