Ten years after Elon Musk unveiled his Mars ship, Starship finally reached orbit — and still watched the 2026 Mars window close. The lesson is not about rockets. It is about building a business on a calendar you do not control. On September 28, 2016, Musk unveiled the Interplanetary Transport System, a giant spaceship meant to carry people to Mars. On September 28, 2026 — ten years and a day later — its stainless-steel descendant, Starship, reached orbit for the first time on