SpaceX Starship 2 | SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas
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SpaceX is moving ahead with preparations for a second integrated Starship/Super Heavy flight, collectively called Starship 2. It rolled out a Starship vehicle designated Ship 25 to the pad on Sept. 5, 2023, and installed it atop Booster 9, which completed a static-fire test on Aug. 25, 2023.
“Starship is ready to launch, awaiting FAA license approval,” posted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Neither SpaceX nor the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have estimated how long it will take to get a license approved.
SpaceX’s 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. Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry up to 150 metric tonnes to Earth orbit reusable, and up to 250 metric tonnes expendable.
Key Starship Parameters:
Height: 120m/394ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100 – 150 t (fully reusable)
Capabilities:
Satellites: "Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes even larger than the James Webb."
Landing on Mars: "Starship will enter Mars’ atmosphere at 7.5 kilometers per second and decelerate aerodynamically. The vehicle’s heat shield is designed to withstand multiple entries, but given that the vehicle is coming into Mars' atmosphere so hot, we still expect to see some ablation of the heat shield (similar to wear and tear on a brake pad)."
Starship's Engines: Raptors
"The Raptor engine is a reusable methalox staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship launch system. Raptor engines began flight testing on the Starship prototype rockets in July 2019, becoming the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown."
Raptor Engine Parameters:
Diameter: 1.3m/4ft
Height: 3.1m/10.2ft
Thrust: 230tf/500 klbf
First Lunar Private Mission
"Later this decade, Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and the crew of dearMoon will become the first civilian passengers on a lunar Starship mission, featuring a fly-by of the Moon during their week-long journey. This flight is an important step toward enabling access for people who dream of traveling to space."
Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):
Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)
Caption Credit: SpaceX/Jeff Foust at SpaceNews.com
Release Date: Sept. 9, 2023
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