[unlurking]

I think I'm done with hoping BO turms things around and succeeds. Plenty of other potential competitors outside the likes of Boeing, ULA, LM, and BO.

16 flights is extremely unlikely. Starship payload to orbit is ~150 tons , so max of 8 to fill 1200 ton tanks of lunar Starship.

Without flaps & heat shield, Starship is much lighter. Lunar landing legs don’t add much (1/6 gravity). May only need 1/2 full, ie 4 tanker flights.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2021