Raptor production rate

[Slarty1080]

Unfortunately. Raptor production rates need to more than double the current 210/yr to 500/yr or more by 2024/2025. This is to ensure Starship is meeting the launch demand of both Starlink and HLS let alone any possible early Mars Demo landing missions. Even if both SH and SS are being reused on average for total flights per vehicle 2 or 3 times.

Now I know why there was the earlier tweet about production rates of 1000/yr. SpaceX eventually need to hit that not just for out year mass production for of 1000's of flights per year. But also earlier when not much reuse is happening to hit the 24 and 36 flights per year capability needed by mid 2020's.

that's why they are building a new factory to produce Raptors

[steveleach]

Unfortunately. Raptor production rates need to more than double the current 210/yr to 500/yr or more by 2024/2025. This is to ensure Starship is meeting the launch demand of both Starlink and HLS let alone any possible early Mars Demo landing missions. Even if both SH and SS are being reused on average for total flights per vehicle 2 or 3 times.

Now I know why there was the earlier tweet about production rates of 1000/yr. SpaceX eventually need to hit that not just for out year mass production for of 1000's of flights per year. But also earlier when not much reuse is happening to hit the 24 and 36 flights per year capability needed by mid 2020's.

I suspect SpaceX will be pushing for hundreds of flights a year just as soon as they can make it happen, regardless of the demand. They'll launch them empty if they have to, and sell cargo space where they can. Their goal is settlement of Mars, not servicing the current orbital launch market. And they'll produce Raptors as fast as they can, for all those Starships and boosters.