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SpaceX approached a successful landing of one of its Starship prototypes last week, and the next test could be the one where the company finally nails it.
The rocket manufacturer, backed by Elon Musk, delivered its latest prototype, called the SN11, to its Boca Chica, Texas, launch site on Monday. Photos shared online showed the spacecraft standing on the site after a heavy crane nicknamed “Tankzilla” moved it into place.
SpaceX has not yet said exactly when the next flight test will take place, but it will likely take some time to prepare the spacecraft for the event. NASASpaceFlight.com, an industry news website, has estimated that the SN11 will be ready as early as next week, based on the orbital times for the earlier prototypes.
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Meanwhile, SpaceX plans to launch another 60 Starlink satellites aboard one of its reusable Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral, Florida this week. The first launch window is scheduled for Tuesday night.
While the Falcon 9 is designed to move in orbit, the Starship is designed to land on non-Earth ground and return. NASA has chosen the Starship as one of three projects for its future lunar missions, and Musk said the spacecraft could even be used for eventual human habitation on Mars.
In this image from a video made available by SpaceX, one of the company’s Starship prototypes shoots its drivers while landing during a test in Boca Chica, Texas, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. The two previous attempts have ended in explosions. (SpaceX via AP
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The Starship is 160 feet long and 30 feet wide. It is designed to transport more than 100 tons. When you embark on missions outside of Earth’s atmosphere, it will also land on one of SpaceX’s Super Heavy rockets.
The previous Starship prototype, SN10, managed to perform a “belly flop” maneuver and fix itself before mostly landing upright last week. However, the spacecraft had a noticeable tilt, and something appeared to be burning on it or near a few minutes before it exploded on the runway.
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Musk responded positively to the test, noting in one tweet that the SN10 “ended up in one piece” and in another, referring to Norwegian mythology by writing that it was “now in Valhalla” with a slow- motion video of the fire. .