Although it sounds like nonsense, I hope that our spacecraft will orbit in six months.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in a speech today said with a smile. He talked about Starship’s new developments and future plans.
In the industrial park where Musk spoke, Starship has completed the first iterative assembly, and visitors can truly see the prototype Starship Mk1 on the scene. Its towering silver shell is like a lighthouse, reflecting the sunshine of Texas. .
▲ Image from: The New York Times
Muske said he hopes Starship will be able to perform a stable and controlled lift test in 1-2 months until it reaches a height of 65,000 feet (about 20 kilometers). Once this milestone is reached, the next goal is to achieve orbital flight within six months.
▲ Rendering Map
Starship will be launched into space by a large rocket called Super Heavy, which combines into a fully reusable transport system with the ultimate goal of commercial space flight, carrying up to 100 people. Lift off.
Starship will be the most powerful spaceship in history, bringing humans to the moon, Mars and other parts of the solar system.
We can get the star ship that was first publicized at the meeting.Render the map and see how it is called the “strongest” interstellar spaceship.
The figure shows that the Super Heavy rocket is 9 meters in diameter and 68 meters long. The Starship is 50 meters in length and 9 meters in diameter, capable of lifting 150 tons of payload. It is the strongest rocket Saturn No. 5 in history. double.
Similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, both Starship and Super Heavy will have landing and landing legs so they can return and fall vertically at any time.
In addition, Starship’s materials will be changed from carbon fiber to stainless steel to enhance the strength of the spacecraft at extreme temperatures.
Muske says Super Heavy will be able to accommodate up toWith 37 Raptor engines, each engine can provide about 200,000 kilograms of thrust, providing starship power to humans to the moon or beyond.
How to achieve rail refueling is also the key to establishing an extraterrestrial base.
Muske said it will use space propellant transfer technology to transport more than 100 tons of cargo to the moon or the surface of Mars. This way of refueling is much simpler and more convenient than docking the space station.
Finally, Musk also detailed how the Starship will land:
This is a new way to control the rocket. It doesn’t land like a plane, but more like skydiving.
In addition to the design of Starship, Musk also demonstrated the historical achievements of SpaceX, including Falcon Heavy, first launched in 2018, was successfully completed in August this yearPrototype Starhopper test car lift test and so on, after all, today is the 11th anniversary of the SpaceX rocket’s first orbit Anniversary.
▲ Prototype Starhopper
And for SpaceX’s next development, Musk said that if Starship can orbit in about six months, people will be able to fly in space next year.
Now, SpaceX is building the Starship as quickly as possible.
In its Texas plant, the second Starship Mk2 is already under construction, with the exception of the Starship Mk1, which will be followed by lift tests and orbital flights. The third Mk3 prototype will be in about 1 Manufacturing began within the month and was completed in the next three months.
Muske believes that if the current production speed continues to grow at the fastest speed, the Mk4 or Mk5 prototype may become the final orbiter. These new spaceships will help humans move closer to real space life in the future.
Starship’s ambitions are not just the moon or Mars. Musk said Starship will go further into the solar system. He also stressed that the key breakthrough in achieving our space civilization is to make space flight like air travel.
We should try to be a multi-planet species, and we should do it now.
Image from: SpaceX