SpaceX Starship
Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched the most powerful rocket in the world, Starship, for the first time on November 20, 2023. The spacecraft’s signal was lost after it reached an altitude of almost 150km.
The Starship is a fully reusable spacecraft designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. It is being developed by SpaceX, a private space exploration company founded by Elon Musk. The Starship is the most powerful operational rocket system in history, generating 17 million pounds of thrust, more than double that of the Saturn V rockets used to send Apollo astronauts to the Moon. The spacecraft is composed of two parts: the Super Heavy booster and the ship on top. Both parts are designed to be fully reusable, which means they can fly back to Earth and be used again and again, much like an airliner. This will result in long-term cost savings compared to conventional, one-time-use rockets.
The Starship is powered by 33 Raptor engines, which are fueled by liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 100 people and 100 tons of cargo to space. The spacecraft is also designed to be refueled in orbit, which will enable it to travel to Mars and beyond.
The Starship has undergone several tests, including a key test called a “static fire” in which 31 out of 33 of the engines at the base of the vehicle’s lower-segment were ignited simultaneously. The firing lasted only a few seconds, with everything clamped in place to prevent any movement. Elon Musk has high hopes for the vehicle. The entrepreneur wants to use it to send satellites and people into Earth orbit and beyond. NASA has already contracted SpaceX to develop a version that can play a role in its Artemis program, to once again land astronauts on the Moon. Mr. Musk himself is focused on Mars. He’s long held the ambition to get to the Red Planet, to establish settlements and, as he puts it, to make humans “a multi-planet species”.
