Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has recently announced the company’s plan to launch its latest Starship rocket prototype by next week. This launch will mark its most ambitious rocket test to date.

Musk confirmed that the aerospace company has completed the test firing of the 3 engines of Starship prototype, SN8 or Serial Number 8, before the flight attempt. Under the recent mission, it is aiming to reach an altitude of around 50,000 feet, which is well above the 500-ft flights of its predecessors SN5 & SN6. The tests of these predecessors were completed on 5^th August and 3^rd September respectively.

The prototypes are made of stainless steel, which represent the 1^st rocket version unveiled by Musk in 2019. SpaceX has been developing this prototype rocket with an objective to launch cargo and over 100 people on board during the missions to the Mars and Moon. In addition, the company is targeting to pass further development milestones with the flight of its Starship SN8.

Musk had previously stated that the goals of the mission are to test three engine ascent, body flaps, as well as transition from main to the header tanks and landing flip. He further gave low odds of complete success of SN8 on the 1^st try.

SpaceX has started the development of prototypes namely SN9 and SN10 at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Musk targets to ensure the full reusability of the new Starship prototype, as the fleet of Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 rockets are partially reusable. The company also envisions rockets similar to commercial airplanes with reduced turnaround times.

Furthermore, Musk revealed that the two latest prototypes feature several minor improvements, with major upgrades to conduct once the company starts working on SN15. During the launch of two NASA astronauts in the 1^st crewed mission of SpaceX in May, Musk stated that the company’s top priority is the development of Starship, which still has several milestones to achieve before it is able to potentially fly people.

Source credit:

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/25/spacex-plans-for-starship-test-flight-next-week-which-elon-musk-says-has-a-1-in-3-chance-of-landing-int.html