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It’s been less than a week since SpaceX’s epic Starship SN10 rocket landed (and the explosion that followed) and the company is already gearing up for another test flight.
Starship’s latest incarnation, the SN11 prototype, was deployed to its test bed Monday, March 8, at SpaceX test grounds near Boca Chica Village in South Texas ahead of an upcoming launch. It is expected to launch soon on the fourth flight of SpaceX’s high-altitude spacecraft.
A video from the tourism website Spadre.com and other Starship observers showed that the towering SN11 rocket (its name is short for Serial Number 11) was transported to its launch site and placed on top of its test bench with a huge crane. The rocket is about 50 meters tall and is powered by three of SpaceX’s Raptor rocket engines.
Related: See the evolution of SpaceX rockets in pictures
Starship SN11 is the latest in a family of huge prototype rockets being built by SpaceX to test the systems required for its massive Starship and Super Heavy rockets, the heart of a new, fully reusable launch system the company hopes to use for trips to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
On March 3, SpaceX launched its Starship SN10 vehicle from an altitude of 10 kilometers and managed to land the vehicle, although the rocket exploded shortly after touchdown. This mission follows two previous flights, respectively carried out by the Starships SN9 and SN8, which also managed to launch at their target heights, but failed to maintain their landings. SN8 and SN9 exploded into massive fireballs during their landing attempts.
SpaceX made incremental changes and upgrades to its spacecraft design after each test flight, while working to perfect the new launch system. The company said each spacecraft would be capable of carrying up to 110 tons (100 tons) in low earth orbit.
NASA has chosen SpaceX’s spacecraft as one of three candidates to potentially land astronauts and equipment on the moon as part of the agency’s Artemis program. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has previously booked a flight around the moon on SpaceX’s spacecraft for himself and eight other passengers. Last week, Maezawa announced a public competition to win these eight seats for his “dearMoon” mission.
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us on @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.
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