In a recent government hearing, Bill Gerstenmaier, Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX, emphasized the critical role of commercial space launch innovation amid increasing strategic competition from state actors, particularly China. Gerstenmaier, who has over 40 years of experience in public service, including significant oversight of human spaceflight at NASA, highlighted the urgency of SpaceX's mission to land American astronauts on the moon using the Starship spacecraft.

He noted that SpaceX is under contract with NASA to achieve this goal before China, underscoring the importance of rapid testing and development of the necessary systems to ensure the safety of astronauts during lunar missions. Gerstenmaier pointed out that while the Starship is ready for its next flight test, the company is currently awaiting a license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the completion of an interagency review process. This delay is seen as a critical factor in maintaining the timeline for the ambitious lunar mission, which is pivotal for national interests in space exploration.