Gwynne Shotwell will oversee the Starship program and the Starbase facilities for SpaceX.
According to The Information, the President and COO of the company, Gwynne Shotwell, will assume oversight of the company's Starship program and Star base facilities, seemingly stepping in for Musk as the CEO shifts his focus to social media. After the purchase of the social media platform for an inflated price of $44 billion, it appears that it is in a precarious position. The immediate implementation of far-reaching changes have scared off existing advertisers, slashed the company's already tenuous revenue, and Musk admitted on November 10th that the company as it stands is losing billions of dollars per year.
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The poorly planned layoffs that targeted half of the company's staff appear to have hurt the company's technical expertise and triggered the departure of many senior employees and executives, while also catching the attention of the US Federal Trade Commission. It appears that Musk will have to divert most of his attention to the social media app for the indefinite future, forcing him to step back from some of his day-to-day work. The adult in the room is a source of stability that bridges the gaps between the CEO's chaotic and whiplash-inducing style of management. If she hadn't convinced NASA to take a billion-dollar bet on the company in 2008, the company wouldn't have survived.
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Shotwell went on to help secure another billion dollars of launch contracts from all possible sectors after NASA took that bet right. She became President and COO 14 years later after navigating NASA's first major SpaceX contract. The Information's report is somewhat surprising given that position. Shotwell was already overseeing Starbase operations when he was Chief Operating Officer. It would be almost impossible for a COO with a reputation as good as hers not to pay close attention to a program that likely represents half of the company. According to CEO Musk, Starship is the future of all the programs.
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If successful, the fully-reusable rocket will be With ultra-low launch costs and orbital refueling, Starship could become the most high-performance rocket in history and outclass multi-billion-dollar single-use behemoths like SLS and Falcon 9 for a price tag less than ($70-100 million) .
Eventually, with enough experience and refinement, that combination of cheap launches and reliable refueling could allow SpaceX to achieve its ultimate purpose: building a self-sustaining human presence on Mars. If Starship wasn't ready to begin launching the next generation of Starlink internet satellites in the near future, it would be a financial liability for Musk's company. While the CEO was exaggerating the severity of the situation, it still emphasizes that Starship is viewed as a keystone that can ensure the long-term viability of all of the programs.
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NASA bought into Starship in April of 2021. The contract is for the creation of a version of the rocket's upper stage that can land astronauts and cargo on the Moon. The program's success has been made even more important by NASA's attachment to Starship. Musk asked Shotwell to oversee the program in his absence. It is not clear if she will give the day-to-day operations of other major SpaceX programs to direct reports or if the new position involves an expansion of her existing Starbase and Starship oversight.
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It is safe to assume that Shotwell's involvement is not likely to hurt the programs. According to The Information, Mark Juncosa, an unconventional engineer who has successfully led the Starlink program since Musk fired several over-cautious executives in 2018, took over technical leadership of the Starship program in the summer of 2022. Executives Joe Petrzelka and Bill Riley, who previously filled that role alone, now report to Juncosa, who reports to Shotwell.
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