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President-elect Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that he really likes rockets. On Tuesday, he’s expected to watch his ally launch a fully reusable, 400-foot mega-rocket out of southern Texas, according to reports.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX aims to begin its sixth and latest test of its Starship rocket at about 5:00 p.m. ET, as the world’s richest person continues to push toward carrying NASA astronauts to the moon and eventually reach Mars. It comes just over a month after SpaceX conducted its previous test, retrieving and “catching” Starship’s Super Heavy booster with its launch tower.
Trump’s planned appearance with Musk is just the latest sign that the two men’s alliance has grown closer over the last several months. Musk became a major donor and surrogate for Trump during the 2024 election, spending at least $120 million of his own cash and leading a super PAC.
Read more: SpaceX is launching another massive Starship rocket into space. Here’s how to watch
Over the course of the campaign, Trump repeatedly praised Musk — calling him “an amazing guy,” a “new star,” and a genius — and diverted his speeches to focus on SpaceX. A common story he told was of how he was on the phone with a “very important person that everybody in this room will know,” as he described it during a stop in Georgia last month, when he saw SpaceX launch a rocket on television.
“It’s steaming and crazy, and the fire’s all over the place, and I’m looking, and then I see the entry, the big entry, and I see the thing coming in and slowing down a little bit, but it’s still going fast,” Trump said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “And I tell this very important guy: ‘Listen, would you hold it for a minute. Just hold it. HOLD IT.’”
Musk has significant influence over the president-elect, although it’s unclear exactly how far that goes.
He’s joined many of Trump’s meetings and meals since his victory, including meetings with foreign leaders and ambassadors, job interviews for Trump’s new administration, a meeting with House Republicans, and he sat ringside with Trump at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (EDR) in New York. Over the weekend, Musk reportedly had a heated argument with a Trump adviser over Musk’s constant presence in Trump’s orbit, accusing them of leaking details of Trump’s transition and personnel picks.
Musk is expected to play a role in guiding the Trump administration’s artificial intelligence initiatives, as well as participate in discussions over tariffs on Chinese products. He has reportedly requested that SpaceX employees be hired as top government officials, including at the Department of Defense.
Musk is also leading an undefined “outside of government” group designed to recommend ways to slash federal spending and cut regulations. He has promised to use that job to push for a national approach to approving driverless vehicles — which Trump’s transition team is reportedly examining — and wants to cut permit requirements, which would benefit Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX, respectively. Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission is also a fan of Musk, SpaceX, and its Starlink subsidiary.