/sci/ - Science & Math

https://spacenews.com/spacex-investment-in-starship-approaches-5-billion/

> WASHINGTON — SpaceX will have spent $5 billion or more on its Starship vehicle and launch infrastructure by the end of this year, according to court filings and comments by the company’s chief executive.

> SpaceX filed a motion with federal district court in the District of Columbia May 19, asking to be added as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by several environmental and Native American groups against the Federal Aviation Administration May 1. That suit alleges the FAA improperly carried out an environmental review of SpaceX Starship launches from Boca Chica, Texas.

> To make that argument, the company included a statement from Bret Johnsen, chief financial officer at SpaceX. He said that, if the plaintiffs win, the company’s ability to generate revenue from Starship launches for both NASA and commercial customers “would be substantially delayed and jeopardized.”

> He specifically noted that since a 2014 “record of decision” by the FAA, allowing SpaceX to develop launch facilities at Boca Chica (originally for the Falcon family of launch vehicles), “SpaceX has invested more than $3 billion into developing the Boca Chica launch facility and Starship/Super Heavy launch system.”

> “It’ll probably be a couple billion dollars this year, two billion dollars-ish, all in on Starship,” he said, adding that he did not expect to have to raise funding to finance that work. He also said in that conversation that he expected Starship to launch four to five more times this year and “would be surprised” if the company didn’t achieve orbit by the end of the year.

> The SpaceX motion to intervene is one of the few updates since the suit was filed. The court set a July 1 deadline for a “responsive pleading” from the FAA.