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SpaceX was closer than ever to a successful landing of one of its starship prototypes last week, and the next test may be the one the company finally gets it right.
The rocket maker backed by Elon Musk delivered its latest prototype, called SN11, at its launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, on Monday. Photos shared online showed the spacecraft stopped at the scene after a heavy crane nicknamed “Tankzilla” moved it to the spot.
SpaceX did not say exactly when the next flight test will take place, but it will probably take some time to prepare the spacecraft for the event. NASASpaceFlight.com, an industry news site, estimated that SN11 could be ready next week, based on response times from previous prototypes.
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Meanwhile, SpaceX is scheduled to launch another 60 Starlink satellites aboard one of its reusable Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral, Florida, this week. The first launch window is scheduled for Tuesday night.
While Falcon 9 was designed to enter orbit, the starship was designed to land on non-terrestrial ground and return. NASA selected the starship as one of three projects for its future lunar missions, and Musk said the spacecraft could even be used for eventual human habitation on Mars.
In this image from the video released by SpaceX, one of the company’s Starship prototypes fires its propellants when it landed during a test in Boca Chica, Texas, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. The previous two attempts ended in explosions. (SpaceX via AP
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The starship is 160 feet high and 30 feet wide. It was designed to carry more than 100 metric tons. When launched for missions beyond Earth’s atmosphere, it will also be on one of SpaceX’s Super Heavy rockets.
The previous prototype of the starship, SN10, managed to launch itself, perform a “belly-down” maneuver and straighten up before landing almost entirely upright last week. The spacecraft had a noticeable slope, however, and something on or near it seemed to be burning for a few minutes before it exploded on the landing pad.
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Musk reacted positively to the test, noting in a tweet that the SN10 had “landed in one piece” and in another, referring to Norse mythology when he wrote that he was “in Valhalla now” with a slow motion video of the fire.