- SpaceX wants to send a record 52 rockets into space this year, NASA said, per CNBC and The Verge.
- Elon Musk's company is already on track to launch four Falcon 9 rockets in January.
- NASA said that SpaceX and the agency will have to be careful not to become victims of their success.
SpaceX is striving to launch a total of 52 missions this year, meaning that, on average, it would send one rocket into space every week.
CNBC and The Verge first reported the news on Thursday.
Meeting the goal would break the company's record of 31 launches, which it achieved last year.
"There's an ambitious 52-launch manifest for SpaceX over the course of the year," Sandra Magnus, astronaut and former executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said during a virtual meeting of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), cited by The Verge.
"That's an incredible pace," Magnus said, adding that "NASA and SpaceX will have to be watchful during 2022 that they're not victims of their success," per The Verge.
"Both NASA and SpaceX will have to ensure the appropriate attention and priority are focused on NASA missions, and the right resources are brought to bear to maintain that pace at a safe measure," Magnus said in the meeting, per CNBC and The Verge.
Magnus didn't specify whether the launches would include Starship prototype flights, per the reports.
NASA and SpaceX didn't immediately reply to Insider's request for comment.
SpaceX has already had three Falcon 9 launches this year so far, between January 6 and 19, and it's planning to send the fourth one into orbit on Friday. This means it's on track to launch one rocket every week, on average.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in 2020 that his aerospace company was aiming to complete 48 launches in 2021. There were only 31 last year, but this was still a record amount for the rocket manufacturer.
The lowest number of launches SpaceX had in the past five years was 13 in 2019, according to media reports.
