SpaceX has made another major breakthrough with its fully reusable Starship launch system: SpaceX has assembled its own Starship spacecraft on top of its super-heavy booster prototype, loaded with a complete set of 29 Raptor rocket engines, and the spacecraft is on board. of the six itself. The stacked spacecraft is now the longest composite rocket ever developed in history.
This stacking, which is taking place at SpaceX’s development site in South Texas, is a significant development as it is the first time the two components of the complete Starship system have been combined together. This is the configuration that will be used to launch the next model spacecraft on a test mission that we hope will reach orbit.
Overall, the massive combined launch system reaches nearly 400 feet (about 390 feet, to be precise), and together with the orbital launch pad it rests on, are all about 475 feet tall, which is taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The buildup itself is impressive, but don’t expect it to last long: the next possible step is to separate the two halves of the launch system again, with more work, analysis, and testing done before reassembly in preparation for the actual orbital launch test.
As for when the orbital launch test will actually take place, it is currently unclear. Disassembly, testing, and reassembly will take time, but the company is certainly still aiming to get it done before the end of the year.
streaming above from NASA space flight.
Updated: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed more details on what will happen next for the Starship system once the two halves are separated. In a tweet, he said the forthcoming system would add the final heat shield tile on the Starship spacecraft — a task nearly 98% complete, he added. in a tweet. Another item on the to-do list adds thermal protection for the booster engine, onshore fuel storage tank, and the ship’s QD boom.
Of course, that’s not all SpaceX needs to prepare for spacecraft flights: Obtaining a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration. This cannot happen until regulators have completed an environmental assessment, a process that can take months.
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