SpaceX has moved a new iteration of its Starship model to its Starbase in Texas for preflight testing.
The new model, which CEO Elon Musk described as the “V2 Starship,” is the latest development in the line of spaceships he hopes will one day take a manned mission to Mars.
Newsweek has contacted SpaceX for more information via email.
Why It Matters
As the only privately owned, fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under active development, Starship’s progress may have a significant influence on government agencies such as NASA—with SpaceX being one of the agency’s most important contractors for U.S. space exploration. If successful, the spacecraft could drastically reduce the cost of launching payloads to orbit and enable ambitious missions such as NASA’s Artemis lunar program and the eventual establishment of a human colony on Mars.
What To Know
In an update on Monday, SpaceX shared new images of the V2 Starship being moved to the Texas Starbase for a series of preflight tests.
The post, which Musk shared, showed the Starship on a moving platform heading to the launch tower at the South Texas Launch Site, which has been SpaceX’s main testing and production location since 2014.
In his post, Musk also said he hoped that the next iteration of the model, the V3, would launch by “end of year.”
The long-term goal of SpaceX and the Starship line of rockets is to establish a human presence on Mars.
In preparation for expeditions to Mars, SpaceX plans to send five Starships on an uncrewed test mission to the red planet during the 2026 planetary alignment.
Later missions, targeting the 2028-2029 window, are set to deploy up to 20 ships to deliver equipment and infrastructure, paving the way for prospective human landings between 2030 and 2031.
The update comes after a SpaceX launch detonated during a static test fire in June. Parts of the rocket exploded at the test site during preflight testing. The problem was later traced to an issue with the pressurized nitrogen tank in the ship’s nose cone.
What People Are Saying
SpaceX restated its goals for reaching Mars in a March statement: “Expansion of Starship production and launch operations in Florida will enable SpaceX to significantly increase the build and flight rates for Starship, which will be the first rapidly and fully reusable launch vehicle in history.
“Access to space is a critical and growing need for U.S. national security, leadership in science, the country’s exploration goals, and for the growth of the economy. Starship will ultimately be responsible for sending millions of tons of payload to Mars—building a self-sustaining city to make humanity multiplanetary.”
What Happens Next
The next manned launch of a SpaceX flight is scheduled to take place in August.
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