[ad_1]
SpaceX is getting closer to its next big jump with the Spatialship super heavy launch system. With the hovering tests now complete, the public is eagerly awaiting the completion of large-scale prototypes and the start of orbital testing. Never disappointed, Elon Musk publishes regular updates on Twitter to present the latest advances in Starship Mk.1 and Mk.2.
The latest images – which were shared on Tuesday, Sept. 17 – show the orbital class test vehicles assembled at the company's facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, and Cape Canaveral, Florida. in the first imageMusk legend with the Star Wars reference (Droid Junkyard, Tatooine), we see the stainless steel ship standing among many equipment and building materials.
in the second image, Musk showed a section of the prototype Spatialship be lowered on the main body. Playing on the saucer aspect of the section and the small dome above (not to mention how the Boca Chica factory compared some secret military testing facilities in Nevada), he titled this tweet with the words "Area 51 of Area 51".
Once assembled, the Mk.1 and Mk.2 will conduct free flight tests that will allow them to reach the suborbital altitudes and then return to Earth under their own power. According to recent filings with the FAA (September 9, 2019), this test will be held in Boca Chica and will consist of an "experimental launch, landing and recovery of the Starship suborbital test vehicle from Boca Chica TX" .
According to the same documents, launch tests using the complete prototype could begin as early as 13 October and end on 13 April 2020. These tests will validate the launch system and bring the company closer to commercial flights. Spatialship and Very heavythat Musk hopes to start by 2021.
As Musk has already indicated, he hopes that the Spatialship will also be able to conduct an unmanned lunar mission in the same year, followed by a crewed mission a year or two later. If successful, SpaceX will have sent people to the lunar surface one year before NASA, which is currently considering sending astronauts back to the moon by 2024 (as part of the Artemis project).
Of course, the long-term goal of the Spatialship Organizing regular trips to Mars will become a reality. According to Musk, it will lead to the creation of a base (the Alpha base in 2028) and the establishment of a colony in its own right. This would meet the goal of SpaceX, founded in 2002, which was to reduce the cost of space launches, to revitalize interest in space exploration and to allow the colonization of Mars.
Two down, one to go …!
Further reading: numerical trends
[ad_2]
Source link