Photo: Elon Musk via Twitter
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to show off the company's massive Starship prototype getting lifted by giant robotic arms and matching with its Super Heavy booster. The preparations signal that the rocket is inching closer to its first orbital launch.
Starship is a system made up of a spacecraft (also called Starship) and a Super Heavy booster, and it's designed to take people to the Moon, and in the future, to Mars. The fully-stacked prototype currently resting on the launch pad at the company's Starbase facility located near the South Texas village of Boca Chica is called SN20.
This is the first rocket that's set to perform an orbital flight. Preparations for the big launch started last year, and we've seen the transportation system slowly coming to life. It's still unclear when the prototype will take to the sky, as it depends on various factors.
One of them is the environmental assessment from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is expected to be released at the end of the month. If everything works accordingly, the launch might happen in March.
But we should get a clearer picture of the company's plans later today (February 10th) when Musk will offer an update on "the design, development, and testing of Starship." The CEO will give a presentation at the Starbase facility, and the recently stacked rocket will likely be part of the show.
The prototype will sit right next to the Mechazilla launch tower, and if you're lucky, you'll probably catch a glimpse of the tower's massive robotic arms called the Chopsticks. But you can see these giant arms in Musk's recent posts as well.
He did not only release stunning images of the SN20 sitting on the launch pad but also a video that shows the Chopsticks slowly moving the 165-foot (50-meter) spacecraft on top of the 230-ft (70-meter) booster. If you want to see Mechazilla's Chopsticks in action, you can take a look at the clip down.
This is the first rocket that's set to perform an orbital flight. Preparations for the big launch started last year, and we've seen the transportation system slowly coming to life. It's still unclear when the prototype will take to the sky, as it depends on various factors.
One of them is the environmental assessment from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is expected to be released at the end of the month. If everything works accordingly, the launch might happen in March.
But we should get a clearer picture of the company's plans later today (February 10th) when Musk will offer an update on "the design, development, and testing of Starship." The CEO will give a presentation at the Starbase facility, and the recently stacked rocket will likely be part of the show.
The prototype will sit right next to the Mechazilla launch tower, and if you're lucky, you'll probably catch a glimpse of the tower's massive robotic arms called the Chopsticks. But you can see these giant arms in Musk's recent posts as well.
He did not only release stunning images of the SN20 sitting on the launch pad but also a video that shows the Chopsticks slowly moving the 165-foot (50-meter) spacecraft on top of the 230-ft (70-meter) booster. If you want to see Mechazilla's Chopsticks in action, you can take a look at the clip down.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 10, 2022
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