SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offered a close-up look at the colossal Starship megarocket, currently poised on the launchpad at Boca Chica, Texas. This exclusive tour follows Musk’s recent visit to the SpaceX Starfactory facility, providing space enthusiasts with an intimate glimpse of the groundbreaking spacecraft.
Tim Dodd, known to his followers as the Everyday Astronaut, accompanied Musk to the base of the towering rocket. The Starship, comprised of the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft, stands an imposing 120 meters tall. “It’s a damn tall rocket,” Musk remarked, emphasizing the rocket’s immense scale and its 5,000-ton weight at liftoff, declaring it the largest flying object ever constructed.
The video, shot just before Starship’s fourth test flight earlier this month, also includes a segment recorded after the successful test. SpaceX’s ambitious vision for the Starship program includes transporting crew and cargo to the moon and beyond, a mission that hinges on the innovative technique of “catching” the Super Heavy booster with the launch tower’s mechanical arms.
Reusing the booster and significantly reducing mission costs, is critical to the success of the Elon Musk Starship system. Unlike the Falcon 9 rocket, which lands on deployable legs, the Super Heavy will rely on the launch tower for recovery, thereby eliminating the weight burden of landing legs.
Musk expressed his excitement about the next test flight, where SpaceX hopes to execute this catching procedure for the first time. The video concludes with a post-test discussion, where Musk, thrilled with the recent achievements, talks about further improvements, including enhancing the flap hinge area to withstand the intense heat during re-entry.
{{user}} {{datetime}}
{{text}}