How to watch Elon Musk address SpaceX employees about plans for Mars
Tech billionaire Elon Musk will address thousands of SpaceX employees on Tuesday night about "making life multiplanetary." The CEO's comments are set to be held after SpaceX attempts its ninth Starship flight mission, which could launch this evening, Tuesday, May 27.
For years, Musk has touted an intention of sending an uncrewed spacecraft to Mars by the end of 2026, with humans "likely" landing on the planet by 2031. The upcoming SpaceX flight launch follows eight flight tests, which began in 2023. The two most recent missions ended with vehicles exploding in the sky, though the spacecraft's rocket boosters successfully returned as planned.
As SpaceX gears up for its next launch, here's what to know about watching Musk's address.
SpaceX: Elon Musk says SpaceX will launch uncrewed Starship for Mars by end of 2026
Musk was originally scheduled to address SpaceX employees at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 27. However, the event has been postponed to 9 p.m. ET, Musk said on X Tuesday afternoon.
"This talk is postponed until after the Starship Flight 9 launch tonight," Musk wrote.
The address will be livestreamed by SpaceX on X, formerly Twitter.
Musk will address SpaceX employees at SpaceX's Starbase in Texas. Starbase, the company's headquarters in Boca Chica, is about 23 miles from Brownsville near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Musk's interest in Mars is seemingly focused on humanity's long-term survival. In a few billion years − at least six billion, according to NASA − our solar system's expanding sun will destroy Earth.
"That's one of the benefits of Mars, is life insurance for life collectively," Musk told Fox News host Jesse Watters in an interview on May 6. "We do at some point need to be a multi-planet civilization, because Earth will be incinerated."
Previous test flight: SpaceX Starship rocket lost, debris shoots through sky
According to the SpaceX website, the ninth fight launch could occur on Tuesday, May 27. The launch window opens at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The ninth flight test will be livestreamed on the SpaceX website, X and the X TV app.
Starship's first two flight tests of 2025 – on Jan. 16 and again on March 6 – both ended in explosions.
"Several hardware changes have been made to increase reliability," SpaceX said on its website in its announcement of the upcoming test.
Contributing: Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY Network
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch: Elon Musk addresses SpaceX employees about life on Mars
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