Publié le par Ignis Prime

A quick update about SpaceX’ Starship

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This saturday Elon Musk was holding a press conference outdoors, in Boca Chica, Texas, at a windy spot at the foot of SpaceX’ Starship prototype. Check the video below. Here I’ll be summarizing all the key points in a nutshell for the impatient.

Fact 1 : the 2018 body design has been modified

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The upper part of future Starship, which should make its first crewed mission within six months, and make it to the Moon by 2023 with billionnaire Yusaku Maezawa as passenger.

Fact 2 : the Raptor engine tests are moving forward rapidly, for both stages of the rocket (see Starhopper recent test here)

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Fact 3 : Heat shield will consist of ceramic and glass, while base ship body retains stainless steel

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Fact 4 : Starship may not be world’s tallest rocket, but should be the most comfortable for humans.

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Official SpaceX infos reveal that it will be 118 meters tall booster included, 3 less than NASA’s future Space Launch System (SLS)
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At minifigure scale (1:48), a LEGO starship would be around 2,4 meters tall. Ship diameter is 9 m, and crewed part of upper stage is almost half of it, which is a lot more volume than capsules we know. But Elon promised up to 100 seats in a mission, which sounds way too optimistic.

Fact 5 : Refueling will be even more advanced

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Back to back orbital refuelling explained

Fact 6 : Elon performed David Bowie’s Starman on stage and mentioned Area 51

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Watch the video to check these infos !

Can’t wait for the next milestones, which will be more practical with the first flights. 2020 should be a vibrant year for space, and other companies should be watched closely : Blue Origin as a top NASA partner towards Moon, Rocketlab and Firefly Aerospace for example.

Eventually we’ll occupy Mars !