Last week, SpaceX launched Starhopper's latest test, a prototype of its Starship spacecraft, designed to carry 100 people at a time to distant destinations like the Moon or Mars.
The context: SpaceX relies on the reusability of its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets with Starship, but the new interplanetary system will have some key differences.
- The Starship and Super Heavy rockets will be equipped with SpaceX Raptor engines, while the company's current rockets use Merlin engines.
- Super Heavy and Starship are expected to fly 1,000 times, according to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
- Raptor engines use methane as fuel and it might be possible to extract methane from Mars or other bodies for use as a propellant someday.
Details: The successful Starhopper test paves the way for SpaceX's projects to test two more prototypes under construction in Texas and Florida.
- The two vehicles, called Mk1 and Mk2, represent healthy competition between SpaceX teams, and this is only the beginning, according to Musk.
- "Both sites will make many spaceships," Musk said on Twitter in May. "It's a competition to see which location is the most effective, the answer could be both."
- SpaceX has announced that the first Starship commercial flights could begin as early as 2021. The company currently has a confirmed mission announced for 2023, during which a group of artists should take a trip around the moon.
What to watch: Musk said the company was planning a 20-kilometer (12-mile) Mk1 flight in October, with an orbital test to follow. Musk is expected to inform the public of Starship's development progress on September 28th.
Go further: The Mars Space Shuttle goes on a summer vacation
