SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell Graces TIME Cover as Starbase Factory Hits High Gear

There are currently 18 Starship spacecraft in various stages of construction across the massive SpaceX factory floor in Starbase, Texas. Some remain stainless-steel barrels measuring nearly 30 feet across, while others are already outfitted with tapered nosecones, ready to be stacked atop first-stage boosters. These 40-story rockets represent the next leap in power for NASA’s lunar ambitions.

SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell is overseeing the push to meet NASA’s goal of returning Americans to the moon. “It’s a hard problem and the whole architecture is complex, but we’re gunning for 2028,” says Shotwell, who’s featured on the cover of TIME, in an interview.

Standing on a walkway overlooking the production line, she notes that the current fleet needs to move quickly. “By 2028, these should be long gone. They better have flown by then.”

The company’s growth has accelerated following a February merger with xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture. The combined operation is now valued at an estimated $1.25 trillion. This integration is fueling a new vision for orbital infrastructure: a mega-constellation of AI satellites that serve as data centers in space. Shotwell believes this is a natural evolution for the company.

“The convergence of AI and SpaceX and what we’re doing—data centers in space, mass drivers on the moon, producing AI satellites on the moon,” she explains. “I would be disappointed if we didn’t have a settlement on the moon and building a manufacturing facility on the moon within 10 years. Hopefully half that.”

The company has already requested FCC licensing for up to one million AI satellites. By placing these data centers in orbit, SpaceX aims to utilize solar power and the natural cooling of space to reduce the massive energy and water consumption required by terrestrial facilities.

While Musk often focuses on the long-term colonization of Mars, the immediate priority has shifted toward the lunar surface. In a recent update, Musk noted that SpaceX is focusing on a self-growing city on the moon, as it is achievable in less than a decade.

Shotwell remains the steady hand managing these “underdog” dreams into a reality. “Hopefully they’re seeing that a girl who grew up in a cow town in northern Illinois could help Elon Musk change the world,” she says. “We’re making strides, but not fast enough.”