Elon Musk-run SpaceX will start flight testing its Super Heavy booster (starting with low-altitude "hops") in a few months from now
IANS | San Francisco
Last Updated at December 25, 2020 10:17 ISTElon Musk-run SpaceX will start flight testing its Super Heavy booster (starting with low-altitude "hops") in a few months from now.
Super Heavy booster will be used to fly Starship for orbital launches and deeper space missions, including Mars.
Reacting to a follower on Twitter, Musk said late on Thursday that the first Super Heavy hop is just "a few months" away.
The SpaceX CEO and founder said the company will use both of its two launch pads in Boca Chica, Texas with prototype rockets set up on each.
SpaceX recently set up its SN9 prototype of Starship at its Texas testing facility.
Meanwhile, Super Heavy will be nearly 240 feet tall and include 28 Raptor engines.
Earlier this month, a prototype of the next-generation heavy-lift rocket Starship exploded on landing after a high-altitude test flight in Texas.
The launch and ascent of Starship serial number 8 (SN8) were successful, but as the engines appeared to reignite for landing, the vehicle flipped back to vertical and then slammed into the ground.
Starship is SpaceX's fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to the Earth's orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Musk said this month that the company is working towards launch of an uncrewed Mars flight in about two years.
In August, a prototype of SpaceX's Mars Starship spacecraft got off the ground in a test flight, marking a small step that could one day prove to be a giant leap towards the human exploration of the Red Planet.
The vehicle, Starship SN5, performed a small hop as it took to the skies for about 40 seconds.
"Mars is looking real," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted shortly after the test flight.
Several of Starship SN5's predecessors got destroyed during test flights.
SpaceX says its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
--IANS
na/
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
First Published: Fri, December 25 2020. 10:11 IST
The Link LonkDecember 25, 2020 at 11:41AM
https://ift.tt/3nOoA6x
SpaceX to begin flight testing Super Heavy booster in few months: Elon Musk - Business Standard
https://ift.tt/2DVP6sH
No comments:
Post a Comment