Elon Musk sends SpaceX employees a crisis email saying they 'face the risk of bankruptcy due to engine production problems'


by

Daniel Oberhaus

Elon Musk, CEO of space exploration company SpaceX, said that there is a serious problem in manufacturing the engine used for the reusable next-generation large rocket 'Starship', 'the real risk of bankruptcy' It was reported that he sent an email to an employee complaining that he might face.

Elon Musk: SpaceX could'face genuine risk of bankruptcy' from Starship
https://spaceexplored.com/2021/11/29/spacex-raptor-crisis/



Elon Musk to SpaceX: Starship's Raptor engine crisis risks bankruptcy
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/30/elon-musk-to-spacex-starships-raptor-engine-crisis-risks-bankruptcy.html

Elon Musk says Raptor engine production is a'disaster' that puts SpaceX at risk of bankruptcy --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/30/22809720/elon-musk-spacex-raptor-engine-crisis-bankruptcy-starship

Starship engine'crisis' poses possible bankruptcy risk for SpaceX, Elon Musk says: report | Space
https://www.space.com/starship-engine-crisis-spacex-elon-musk

SpaceX's next-generation reusable large rocket 'Starship' succeeded in landing after flying to an altitude of 10 km in a test flight in May 2021, and the first orbital flight test was in January 2022. It is planned . The Raptor engine that uses liquid methane and liquid oxygen is being developed as such a starship engine.

However, according to an email sent to employees on November 26, the day after Thanksgiving, Mr. Musk said that production of the Raptor engine was delayed more than previously reported. 'The Raptor production crisis is much worse than we saw a few weeks ago,' said an email received by Space Explored, a space exploration media. Since 39 Raptor engines are required to launch one Starship, it is expected that if production delays continue, the launch of Starship will be seriously affected.

Musk's email states that after digging into issues with the Raptor engine after his retirement from 'former senior management,' production turned out to be far worse than previously reported. The former senior executives are likely to be Will Heltsley and Lee Rosen, who were reported to have left SpaceX in November.

'I was going to take a break this weekend for the first time in a long time, but instead I'm on the Raptor line all night, all weekend,' said Musk. 'I'm having important family problems or physically ( We need everyone's help to recover from this disaster, except for those who can't return to Hawthorne ( where SpaceX's headquarters are located). ' I called.


by Steve Jurvetson

Starship will be used to carry people and cargo, but Musk points out in an email that Starship is also needed to launch the satellite used for the satellite Internet service Starlink.

SpaceX has launched more than 1800 Starlink satellites so far, most of which are versions called 'Starlink v1' that do not support intersatellite communication. In order to launch 'Starlink v2' that enables inter-satellite communication , the size and mass of the conventional Falcon 9 are not enough, so a large starship will be required. 'If we can't produce a reliable Raptor engine, SpaceX will not be able to launch Starship and will not be able to launch Starlink v2,' Musk said.

'Starlink v1 itself is financially weak and v2 is strong,' Musk explained, and the launch of Starlink v2 by spaceship is important for SpaceX to provide Starlink while ensuring long-term financial stability. It is said that. 'That is, if we don't launch a starship every two weeks next year (2022), SpaceX will face a real risk of bankruptcy,' Musk said at the end of the email. It suggests that SpaceX could go bankrupt in the worst case.

It's hard to tell if SpaceX is actually in danger of going bankrupt, but Musk said in a reply to an article he reported on the email: 'SpaceX has billions of dollars in spaceship with Starlink. If a severe global recession depletes the availability / liquidity of capital while losing (yen), bankruptcy is unlikely, but not impossible. '



On the other hand, regarding the production problem of the Raptor engine, he said, 'The problem is being fixed' in response to the user's question.



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in Note, Posted by log1h_ik