Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX’s vice president of commercial sales, spoke at the APSAT conference in Jakarta, he said: “We are in discussions with three different customers as we speak right now to be that first mission. Those are all telecom companies.” SpaceX performed a “hop” with a prototype of Starship in April, propelling the vehicle just centimeters off the ground.
Mr Hofeller said future tests will reach higher altitudes.
He said: “We have future hops coming up later this year.
“The goal is to get orbital as quickly as possible, potentially even this year, with the full stack operational by the end of next year and then customers in early 2021.”
The launch system comes in two parts, the Super Heavy booster, which is the lower stage and the upper stage, called Starship.
READ MORE: Elon Musk mocked by Russian scientists who send ‘Rogozin’ into space
Together they will be able to transport up to 20 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit, Mr Hofeller said, or more than 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit.
The ultimate aim for Starship is to carry crew and resources to the moon and Mars.
But, the 2021 launch will be utilised to send satellites into orbit around the Earth and elsewhere.
Mr Hofeller said SpaceX plans to do several test flights before using the next-generation launch system for satellites.
Those test flights, a number he did not quantify, are to demonstrate the launch system for customers and to assuage any concerns by insurers about the reliability of a new vehicle.
SpaceX ultimately intends to supersede its current partly reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launchers with the fully reusable Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage.
Mr Hofeller said: “Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are going to be around as long as our customers want them.
“If we make them obsolete by having a better product and a lower price, great.”
Elon Musk aims to create a plan B for life on Earth on the red planet.
In 2017 he said: “I hope people start to think of it as a real goal to which we should aspire, to establish a civilization on Mars.
“This is not just about humanity, it’s about all the life that we care about.”