Thread by @thesheetztweetz

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is speaking at the virtual #HumansToMars conference (he's dialing in from Germany).

Thread:

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk Musk: "Given enough time SpaceX will get to Mars," but it's not just about getting there, it's about when and how.

"We've got to build upon a Mars base and then we've got to build a city and get to the point where it's self-sustaining."

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk Musk, on sending people to Mars: "I want to emphasize that this is a very hard and dangerous difficult thing, not for the faint of heart .. It's gonna be tough going and be pretty glorious if it works out."

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk Musk, on Starship: "We're making good progress. The thing that really impedes progress on Starship is the production system ... A year ago was nothing there and now we've got quite a lot of production capability. So we're rapidly making more and more ships."

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk Musk: SpaceX is trying to simplify the configuration of Starship's Super Heavy booster, so the engine configuration might end up being 28 instead of 31 engines.

"Still a lot of engines"

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk Musk: Starship over time will be able to launch over 100 tons of cargo.

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk Musk: The first orbital Starship flights "might not work" since the company is in "uncharted territory."

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk .@TheeSpaceDude: What do you hope the headlines back on Earth say when SpaceX lands people on Mars for the first time?

Musk: "I haven't thought about that ... Humans landed on Mars."

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk @TheeSpaceDude Musk: SpaceX has not done much work on Starship's cabin/interior "because we've got to first make the thing work and do hundreds of missions with satellites before we put people on board."

@ExploreMars @SpaceX @elonmusk @TheeSpaceDude Musk goes into a long explanation of the potential capabilities of the SpaceX Raptor rocket engine (which will power Starship), saying that the company thinks Raptor could achieve a thrust-to-weight ratio of 200.