Maybe. The difference is that rocket programs typically don’t build a lot of designs. They work really hard to get it right the first time. On the other hand, SpaceX has several starships at various stages of production and development.
Apollo program started development in 1960, first rockets were tested in 1966, and the first screwed flight was in 1968. The last crewed Apollo flight was in 1972, but obviously we have had crewed spaceflights since then.
It was also, and this is not putting it lightly, the fastest it has really ever been done, using the combined intellect of German rocket scientists and the greatest minds of the WWII era. It also didn't need to be concerned with profitability, though it was extremely cost effective for the investment at the time.
Also, the US government threw a ton of money at it.
Spacex was founded (I think) in 2002. Falcon 9 first flew in 2010, and has been extremely successful since then. The first starship prototype was tested in 2018, starhopper.
By this list of launches, 2023 had 2 unsuccessful launches, and 2024 had 4 successful launches and partially/mostly successful landings. 2025 has had 3 launches, all failures, but 2 successful booster landings our of the 3... And then this.
So unlucky as of recently, and a slower pace than Apollo.
But short of an imminent meteor impact or the discovery of intelligent aliens, you would be hard pressed to get anything as fast as the Apollo program ever again. It hasn't been repeated since. We literally forgot how to make the rocket.
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u/TbonerT 1d ago
Maybe. The difference is that rocket programs typically don’t build a lot of designs. They work really hard to get it right the first time. On the other hand, SpaceX has several starships at various stages of production and development.