AT NEARLY 400 FEET TALL, STARSHIP WOULD BE THE LARGEST ROCKET TO EVER FLY. SPACEX HOPES IT CAN BECOME A VEHICLE FOR INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL. SPACEX
SpaceX is set for April 17 to test a 400-foot stainless-steel rocket called Starship, the largest rocket ever built, which can potentially carry humans to the moon and beyond.
It is unlike any other rocket due to its size, use of methane as fuel, and the number of engines, making its first test flight extremely risky.
Starship could enable SpaceX to become multi-planetary, potentially transporting the first people to Mars.
- Starship could also enable launching the company's Starlink satellites to rapidly grow its internet network.
- The rocket uses methane as fuel, which is cheaper to produce and handle than hydrogen.
- Trace amounts of methane are present in Mars' atmosphere.
- The success of Starship's first test flight will depend on dozens of engines firing in perfect synchrony, a complex feat that could be one of the biggest challenges.
- The rocket's unconventional design and components make the test flight extremely risky.
- SpaceX has replaced "liftoff" in its mission timeline with "Excitement guaranteed."
- Despite the trade-offs of having many engines, it allows the rocket to produce enormous thrust, which it needs to get off the ground.
The Soviet Union tried a similar approach in the 1960s, building a massive rocket with 30 engines that failed due to the complexity of having so many engines firing simultaneously.
