SpaceX Isn’t Subsidizing Rocket Launches Says Musk – Shares Biggest Risk For Starship’s Fourth Test

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Ahead of the highly anticipated fourth Starship test flight that's currently due for a June 5th attempt, SpaceX chief Elon Musk has rebutted claims that his firm is subsidizing ride share and other missions with its Falcon 9 rockets. SpaceX came to the center of media attention after an interview given by a rival firm's CEO saw the executive claim that SpaceX was driving down competition in the industry by selling rocket launches below cost.

Musk's comments also mentioned a key problem with Starship, which might cause the second stage to fail its test objectives during the upcoming IFT-4.

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Elon Musk Stresses That Flight Tests Are Key To Making Starship Reusable

Starship's third test flight, which took place earlier this year, awed viewers when the second stage spacecraft entered the Earth's atmosphere. During the atmospheric reentry, the rocket was engulfed in a bright red plasma that surrounds any vehicle that enters the atmosphere. Courtesy of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet services, viewers were treated to high definition views of the plasma.

However, the feed cut off soon after, and SpaceX later confirmed that it had lost the ship during reentry. The full Starship stack, made of the second-stage Starship stacked on the Super Heavy booster, is the world's largest rocket, and it has seen SpaceX design the second-stage heat shield from the ground up.

This heat shield is made of thousands of tiles manufactured in SpaceX's facilities. These tiles have been one of the most troublesome components of the rocket. Local media footage from SpaceX's facilities in Texas has seen the tiles regularly fall from the rocket while it is static, and several Starship test launches have also seen them dislodge during liftoff.

While he didn't go into