The Starship is the machine imagined by SpaceX and Elon Musk to return to the Moon and establish colonies on Mars. To conquer space. But above all, it will have to successfully launch it into orbit. The first trial is planned for this year. Maybe even before spring.
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[EN VIDÉO] SpaceX: replay of the successful flight of the Starship SN15 prototype Watch the SN15 prototype of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft fly at altitude. The machine landed successfully in the planned landing area, and for the first time, without exploding!
the Starship developed by SpaceXit is the entirely reusable device aboard which the Nasa plans to embark the astronauts that it should soon send to the Moon. Elon Musk, he already sees him on his way to Mars. There carrying equipment and astronauts who could build the first human colonies on the red planet.
In the meantime, the boss of SpaceX just reported on the progress of the project. A major step will be taken this year. If all goes as planned. While the Starship has only made a few low-altitude hops so far, Elon Musk has announced that it will soon be ready for orbital flight. Maybe even within a month or two.
Final settings for the Starship
Remember that the machine is made up of two elements: a propellant called super-heavy surmounted by a vessel, the Starship. The first hasn’t taken off yet. But the second, after having suffered several resounding failures, finally managed to tear itself off the ground and then land. It was last May. SpaceX is now awaiting clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration to plan a put into orbit.
The launch should be from the base of Boca Chica (Texas). But it might also need to be moved to mythical Cape Canaveral (Florida) should administrative difficulties arise. Eventually, Elon Musk plans to launch his Starship from floating platforms around the world. And up to three times a day! All for a cost “ridiculously low” compared to that of current spaceflight.
Elon Musk pushes Starship’s first orbital flight to 2022
After a series of failed suborbital tests, SpaceX had finally managed to land its ship, designed to be reusable. In early 2022, Elon Musk’s company aims to make the first orbital flight of its Starship spacecraft.
Article of Gaspar Solomon published on 18/11/2021
It was the company SpaceX which had been selected by NASA for the construction of the lander used as part of the program Artemisaiming to bring astronauts to the lunar surface from 2025. This test will thus mark the first stage of the program.
Although the last test was a success, the founder of SpaceX is reserved about the success of this next flight: during a virtual meeting organized by the National Academy of Sciences, Elon Musk had declared that there were many risks associated with this launch, making it more likely to end in failure. However, he is confident of his ship’s ability Starship to successfully achieve theorbit in 2022.
This vessel has never taken off: last May, the company managed to fly a large vessel at an altitude of 10 kilometers, before successfully re-landing it. For this first test, Starship will be powered by its first stage, named “Super Heavy”. The latter, powered by a mixture of liquid oxygen and methane, is also designed to be fully reusable. The take-off thrust will be twice that of the rockets Saturn V used by NASA 50 years ago to transport astronauts to the Moon.
A much larger project?
Even if this test will mark a significant step forward for the Artemis program, Elon Musk goes further and outlines his short and medium term plans: with the ultimate goal of making humans a species multi-planetary, the billionaire plans to build a fleet of a thousand ships. According to him, ” moving people to Mars and elsewhere as quickly as possible would be essential to preserve the light of consciousness “.
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