Super Heavy
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SpaceX successfully completes static fire test of Starship's Super Heavy booster
It's one step closer to Starship's first orbital flight test.
SpaceX's latest Starship booster test ends with an explosion
It could push back SpaceX's plans for the Starship's first orbital test flight.
SpaceX plans to launch its first orbital Starship test flight in July
SpaceX says it hopes to launch its first orbital Starship test flight in July, although that's assuming everything stays on track.
SpaceX will try to 'catch' its Super Heavy rocket using the launch tower
Elon Musk says SpaceX will try to 'catch' the Super Heavy booster rocket using the launch tower, saving the trouble of using legs.
Elon Musk hopes SpaceX's Starship will reach orbit in six months
Elon Musk's ambitious plans for Starship extend to the timeline for its first flights. As part of a Q&A session at SpaceX's presentation, Musk outlined plans for rapid prototyping that could get the vessel into space in a short time frame. Starship Mk1 (above) at Boca Chica, Texas should have a suborbital test flight within one to two months, the executive said. After that, a competing team in Cape Canaveral, Florida will conduct a similar test with a Mk2 ship as soon as November. Mk3 will start construction in October with aims to fly in December, while the competing Mk4 could come in January. If all goes well, either Mk3 or an eventual Mk5 would fly an orbital test within six months -- no small achievement when Starhopper only flew in August.
SpaceX's plan for in-orbit Starship refueling: a second Starship
During an update on the SpaceX Starship program, Elon Musk just showed off a brief clip that explained part of the plan for using these vehicles to reach Mars. It involved a Starship in orbit around Earth, meeting a similarly-sized vehicle to refuel before it goes on the long trip to another planet. Musk has long touted his desire to make human life "multiplanetary" and expressed this as the way to achieve his goal. He explained the Starship only requires its "Super Heavy" booster for launches from Earth, so it seems possible that the second vehicle could launch from the Moon powered only by its own Raptor engines.
SpaceX plans to launch Starship's first commercial flight in 2021
While we haven't seen the Starship fly yet -- SpaceX just got done with its test firings and short "hops" back in April -- we might not have to wait that long for its first commercial flight. According to SpaceX VP of commercial sales Jonathan Hofeller, the company is hoping to send it to space for its first commercial mission in 2021. He revealed at an event in Indonesia that SpaceX is already in discussions with three different customers for that flight, all telecom companies likely looking to send satellites to orbit.
