Palantir, the AI giant that preaches U.S. dominance Still, the world's richest man, who is known for his aggressively optimistic timelines, maintains that the first Starship launches will take place next year. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell also announced the "first-of-its-kind" deal with the Italian Space Agency, saying that there was "more to come." "Get on board! We are going to Mars! SpaceX is now offering Starship services to the red planet," she posted on X, formerly Twitter. Musk, the world's richest man and a former close advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, has cultivated close ties with Italy's hard-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. A proposed cybersecurity deal between the Italian government and Musk's satellite company Starlink was heavily criticised by opposition parties in Italy earlier this year.