The fifth test flight of SpaceShip, the SpaceX spacecraft that should take humans to the Moon, Mars and even beyond, was a complete success. The Super Heavy booster was recovered smoothly by the mechanical arms, nicknamed “Mechzilla”, and the spacecraft’s splashdown went as planned: the vehicle reached its target in the Indian Ocean just over an hour after launch. “Today a big step forward has been taken towards multiplanetary life”, commented Elon Musk, quoting astronaut Neil Armstrong. And, in fact, to date the vehicle designed by the South African tycoon’s company is the only one that has the capacity to allow most people to think that, in a not too distant future, we will be able to look at the Earth from the porthole of a base on our satellite or even from further away.
The Starship system
Starship consists of two parts, the shuttle and the Super Heavy rocket. With a height of 121 meters, a diameter of 9 and a load capacity of 100-150 tons, it is the most powerful spacecraft ever created and, more importantly, it is completely reusable. In addition, the ship will also be able to count on an in-orbit refueling system (vehicle tanker), which should allow it to sustain a flight to Mars with 100 tons of load.
The spaceship
The Starship itself has a height of 50 meters and is capable of carrying 1,200 tons of propellant. It has a thrust capacity of 1,500 tf (ton-force) and, as explained on the official SpaceX website, comes with several configurations,”It offers an integrated cargo section and is capable of carrying cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond”. The ship can also be used to move from one point to another on our planet and allows you to reach any part of the world in less than an hour. Its maximum crew capacity is equal to 100 people.
The Super Heavy booster
The Starship launch system booster is powered by 33 Raptor engineswhich use subcooled liquid methane and oxygen. Its power is equal to that of 700 airlinersfor a total of 7,590 tf.
It is also completely reusable and returns to Earth orbit after detachment from the spacecraft, returning to the launch site. Upon its arrival, as demonstrated by the test carried out in Texas, it was recovered by the “Mechzilla” facility.