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SpaceX progresses in the assembly of its Starship orbital spacecraft prototype, as shown by the new photos shared by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk . This life-size trial version of the Starship will take over the StarHopper, a small version used to test the Raptor engine initially with low-level flights.
The ship Mk I and Mk II prototypes, simultaneously built at SpaceX The facilities in South Texas and Florida will be used to test flight at higher altitudes and speeds and will use up to three to six Raptor engines simultaneously, compared to the single engine used with the StarHopper.
The rounded parts of the prototype that you see in the photos that are lowered on top of each other measure 9 meters in diameter and, unlike the StarHopper, they will have a rounded and smooth upper part, which you can see by the second. Photo. Once completed, SpaceX will conduct an initial test of the orbital prototype to reach 12,000 feet, or 63,000 feet, before proceeding to higher velocity tests at similar heights and, finally, to a first test. Orbital flight.
In the end, SpaceX's goal with Starship is to become the spearhead of all its business operations, completely replacing the Falcon. 9, the Falcon Heavy and Dragon Capsule spacecraft, which meet the Earth's orbital requirements, as well as ferry and astronaut routes to Mars and beyond.
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