Will SpaceX’s Starship rocket ever work – and what if it doesn’t?

Another launch, another failure? With the ninth flight of SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket ending in the vehicle’s loss, questions are being asked about whether Elon Musk’s company can ever deliver on its promises to return people to the moon, launch new space stations and one day take astronauts to Mars.

“I expected more progress from SpaceX by now,” says Laura Forczyk at space industry consultancy Astralytical. “It’s frustrating from an outsider’s perspective, because I’m rooting for them. So much of the space community is relying on…