STARSHIP - SCI & TECH
News:
SpaceX Starship, world's biggest rocket, set for first test flight
What's in the news?
● SpaceX
is counting down to the first test flight on Monday of Starship, the most
powerful rocket ever built, designed to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars
and beyond.
Key takeaways:
● The
U.S. space agency NASA has picked the Starship spacecraft to ferry astronauts
to the Moon in late 2025 -- a mission known as Artemis III -- for the first time since the Apollo program ended in
1972.
Starship:
● Starship
is a fully reusable spacecraft designed
and built by SpaceX with the primary goal of sending humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
● Starship
has been under development since 2012 and is a part of Space X’s central
mission to make interplanetary travel accessible and affordable and to become
the first private company to do so.
Launched by: SpaceX, a private firm
based in the US.
Aim:
● SpaceX
aims to use Starship to establish a self-sustaining human settlement on Mars.
● The
ultimate goal is to enable humans to become a multi-planetary species.
● It
also aims to make Starship reusable, reducing the cost of spaceflight and
bringing down the price to a few million dollars per flight.
● In
the long run, the company aims to achieve full and rapid reusability of the
spacecraft.
Features:
1. Design and configuration:
● Made
up of two parts - a 50meter tall spacecraft and a 70meter tall Super Heavy
rocket booster.
● Spacecraft
has six Raptor engines, Super Heavy Booster has 28 Raptor engines.Starship has
been under development since 2012 and is a part of Space X’s central mission to
make interplanetary travel accessible and affordable and to become the first
private company to do so.
● Payload capacity of up to
100 metric tons and features a large heat shield.
● Interior
can be configured for up to 100
passengers or cargo.
2. Maneuverability:
● Designed
to be fully reusable, with vertical take-off and landing on Earth, Moon, and
Mars.
● Can
be refueled in orbit for deeper space travel and for establishing a human
settlement on Mars.
3. Construction:
● Built
using durable and cost-effective stainless-steel
material.
● Stainless
steel also provides heat protection during re-entry into the Earth’s
atmosphere.
4. Power and thrust:
● Powered
by methane and liquid oxygen fueled
Raptor engines.
● Generates
17 million pounds of thrust more than twice that of the Saturn V rockets used
for the Apollo missions.