Elon Musk-led SpaceX once again showed that it is keen to launch its Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, sometime this month. The company shared a photo of the Starbase “Megabay,” where four Super Heavy boosters seem to be ready for launch.
The post on Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, shows images taken from the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The Starship launch vehicle has already had two test launches, and it exploded during both. SpaceX is keen to launch Starship again in Februaryprovided it gets the necessary clearances from the country’s Federal Aviation Authority.
“Starship” refers to the combination of the Super Heavy booster, many of which are seen in the image above, and the Starship spacecraft. Together, they form the next generation of SPaceX’s launch systems and are designed to carry both astronauts and cargo into our planet’s orbit, the Moon, and maybe even Mars and beyond.
Super Heavy boosters for the next three flights, with a fourth ready to stack, in the Starbase Megabay pic.twitter.com/0GLwlDvjNu
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 2, 2024
The Super Heavy booster is the first stage of Starship and is designed to be completely reusable — after launch, it should re-enter the planet’s atmosphere and land back at the launch site. It is about 69 metres tall and 9 metres wide and will have the capacity to hold around 3,400 tons of propellant. It is powered by 33 Raptor engines that together provide close to 7,600 tons of thrust.
The Starship spacecraft is the second stage of the system, and it has an integrated payload section designed to carry both crew and cargo. Interestingly, SpaceX says Starship is also capable of point-to-point transport on Earth. The 50-metre tall and 9-metre wide spacecraft will have a payload capacity of between 100 tonnes and 150 tonnes. It will be powered by three Raptor engines and three special RVac engines — normal Raptor engines modified for use in the vacuum of space.
