Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Starship could become one of the most important milestones in the evolution of life, arguing the fully reusable rocket could make humanity multi-planetary.

SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket is poised for its first flight of 2026, and the schedule is finally starting to come into focus. The next mission is expected to debut a new generation of hardware while setting the tone for a year that could decide how quickly the vehicle moves from experimental prototype to workhorse launcher.

SpaceX has one final launch scheduled from Southern California before Christmas. A Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch Tuesday, Dec. 16 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission will deploy 27 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.