[ad_1]
The next SpaceX SpaceX prototype will no longer be a simple concept vehicle.
The construction of the test vessel is progressing fast, with two new photos published on Twitter today (17 September) by the founder and CEO of the company. Elon Musk reveal.
One of the images shows the vehicle – apparently Starship Mk1, which is being mounted in SpaceX's facility in South Texas, near the village of Boca Chica – in the background, behind a building containing a variety of rooms and other equipment. (SpaceX is also building a similar prototype, called Starship Mk2, at the company's facilities in Florida, thinking that some intra-company competition would improve the vehicle's final design.)
Related, connected, related: The SpaceX spacecraft and the Super Heavy Mars rocket in images
Droid Junkyard, Tatooine pic.twitter.com/yACFR9y04PSeptember 17, 2019
"Droid Junkyard, Tatooine," Musk said via Twitter, in reference to the original planet of Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" movies.
The other photo is a close-up view of a ring-shaped section that is lowered on the body of the Mk1. The billionaire entrepreneur had a joke for this one too: "Area 51 of Area 51".
Area 51 of Area 51 pic.twitter.com/Du7i92sFaOSeptember 17, 2019
The Mk1 and Mk2 follow in the footsteps of SpaceX's Starhopper, which was decommissioned after make a big test flight last month. But the new vehicles are much more ambitious and more efficient. While Starhopper only had one Raptor engine and remained a few hundred feet off the ground, for example, the Mk1 and Mk2 will be powered by at least three Raptors and will go much higher.
SpaceX is aiming for a 20-kilometer test flight in October, followed by an orbital attempt "shortly afterwards". Musk said at the end of last month.
All these steps lead to the final Starship, SpaceX's planned spacecraft to colonize Mars. This spacecraft will be able to carry 100 passengers and will be launched at the top of a huge rocket called Super Heavy. Both elements, the rocket and the spacecraft, will be fully and quickly reusable, said Musk.
The last ship, as currently envisioned, will feature six Raptors, while the Super Heavy will be powered by 35 engines. These figures could change, however. Musk is scheduled to update Starship's design on September 28th from the South Texas site.
The Mk1 should be completely assembled at that time, he said.
The Mk1 and Mk2 test campaigns will not be very long if SpaceX's scheduled schedules are respected. Company representatives said that Starship's first operational flights, which should be commercial satellite launches, could take place. from 2021. (Ultimately, SpaceX plans to use Starship for all of the company's space flight needs, from interplanetary settlement missions to satellite launches, to end-to-end journeys around the Earth.)
And SpaceX is targeting 2023 for a crewed vehicle mission: a flying around the moon reserved by the Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.
Mike Wall's book on the search for extraterrestrial life, "Over there"(Grand Central Publishing, 2018, illustrated by Karl Tate), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link