Musk Wants a Rocket Every Hour. The Bottleneck Isn't the Rocket.
By Ervin Dhima
Elon Musk's hourly-Starship promise implies 8,760 flights a year against a federal ceiling of 145 and two flights so far in 2026. The binding constraint isn't the rocket — it's liquid oxygen production, cryogenic storage, and a July 2026 FAA rulemaking that could remove the launch cap entirely.