© 2026 ABC News

Musk said he hopes the Starship will achieve this dream, adding that they plan for it to launch for the first time in \"one to two months\" and reach at least 65,000 feet before it returns to Earth.

\"I mean this is going to sound totally nuts but I think we’re want to try to reach orbit in less than six months,\" he said.

\"PHOTO:
Callaghan OHare/Reuters
PHOTO: A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is seen before SpaceX's Elon Musk gives an update on the company's Mars rocket Starship in Boca Chica, Texas, Sept. 28, 2019.
>

The Starship will \"be the most powerful rocket in history, capable of carrying humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond,\" SpaceX said in a tweet.

Eventually, they hope it will be able to carry as many as 100 passengers on \"long-duration, interplanetary flights\" and be an affordable delivery method for \"significant quantities of cargo and people, essential for building Moon bases and Mars cities,\" the company said.

While many experts pointed out that this is a highly ambitious timeline for a spacecraft that has yet to launch, Musk acknowledged that one of the goals of his presentation was to get people excited about the future of space exploration.

\"PHOTO:
Callaghan OHare/Reuters
PHOTO: A crowd gathers before SpaceX's Elon Musk gives an update on the company's Mars rocket Starship in Boca Chica, Texas, Sept. 28, 2019.
>

\"There are many troubles in the world, of course, and these important and we need to solve them, but we also need things that make us excited to be alive that make us glad to wake up in the morning,\" he said. \"Space exploration is one of those things, and becoming a space-exploring civilization, and being out there among the stars this is one of those things that makes me glad to be alive.\"

Starship will provide affordable delivery of significant quantities of cargo and people, essential for building Moon bases and Mars cities pic.twitter.com/0BImZP1qmM

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2019

The Starship is the spacecraft lined up to take Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who will be SpaceX's first private passenger, to the moon in 2023.

It is unclear how much Maezawa paid, but Musk thanked him for his support during Saturday's presentation.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Business/elon-musk-unveils-starship-transport-humans-moon-mars/story?id=65953268","legacySlug":"/news/story/elon-musk-unveils-starship-transport-humans-moon-mars-65953268","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"16:00","publishDate":"09-30-2019","updatedTime":"18:10","updatedDate":"09-30-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"A crowd gathers before SpaceX's Elon Musk gives an update on the company's Mars rocket Starship in Boca Chica, Texas, Sept. 28, 2019.","credit":"Callaghan O'Hare/Reuters","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Business/SPACEX-1-rt-er-190930_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/30/2019 16:00:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":65953268,"headline":"Elon Musk unveils the Starship spacecraft","mediaAssetTitle":"STARSHIP ROCKET","description":"The SpaceX CEO outlined how he hopes to make space travel like air travel. ","duration":"1:07","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190930_vod_musk_spacex_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132055565","131830882","130993584"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 15, 2026","headline":"American influencer found dead in Tanzania","section":"News","slug":"/video/132055565","id":"132055565","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 8, 2026","headline":"Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","section":"News","slug":"/video/131830882","id":"131830882","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"March 12, 2026","headline":"Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","section":"News","slug":"/video/130993584","id":"130993584","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Elon Musk unveils the Starship spacecraft","description":"The SpaceX CEO outlined how he hopes to make space travel like air travel. ","duration":"1:07","uploadDate":"09-30-2019","publication":"09-30-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190930_vod_musk_spacex_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190930_vod_musk_spacex_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/elon-musk-unveils-starship-transport-humans-moon-mars-65953268"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Elon Musk unveils the Starship spacecraft","pubTime":"12:00","pubDate":"09-30-2019","modTime":"14:10","modDate":"09-30-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":65953268,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Elon Musk unveils the Starship spacecraft","mediaAssetTitle":"STARSHIP ROCKET","videoId":65953268,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/elon-musk-unveils-starship-transport-humans-moon-mars-65953268"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/65953268","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/65953268","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};