SpaceX might exceed 90% of all Earth payload to orbit later this year: Elon Musk

Billionaire Elon Musk announced on Tuesday that his space venture SpaceX is projected to deliver over 90% of Earth's payloads to low-Earth orbit by the end of this year. This statement, shared on social media platform X, follows a report indicating SpaceX's dominance, with more than half of the 63 orbital launch attempts worldwide in the first quarter of 2024.

Musk highlighted that this percentage could rise to "over 99%" once the company's massive Starship vehicle begins regular launches. The 400-foot-tall Starship rocket, paired with the Heavy Booster, is designed to support missions such as landing astronauts on the Moon during the crewed Artemis 3 mission in 2026.

"SpaceX might exceed 90% of all Earth payload to orbit later this year. Once Starship is launching at a high rate, probably over 99%," Musk wrote on X. He emphasized the importance of this achievement for future space exploration, adding, "Has to be or we can't build a city on Mars or base on the Moon. We file almost no patents, so nothing stopping competition from copying us."

According to a Q1 Launch Report, SpaceX's launch attempts in Q1 2024 increased by 11 compared to Q1 2023, lofting 13.6 times more than five Chinese launchers combined. Musk announced the fourth Starship test flight in two weeks while Starlink surpassed 3 million customers in 99 countries.