SpaceX reports that the first test flight of the super-heavy Starship launch vehicle will take place next year.
The launch of the Starship rocket is part of a large-scaleprogram of a private space company aimed at performing interplanetary flights to the Moon and Mars. If all goes according to SpaceX's plan, the 120-meter-tall rocket will make its first orbital launch this month and become the world's most powerful rocket, surpassing the SLS or Space Launch System rocket developed and first used by NASA last year for the lunar mission. "Artemis" program.
While waiting for permission to launch, SpaceX showedhow she sees the future of flights to Mars. In the animated video, Starship is launched into orbit and separated from the first stage of Super Heavy. She returns to Earth and lands on the launch pad while the main ship departs for Mars.
Mars Starship mission. Video: SpaceX
When landing, it is clear that this Starship is notthe only one. The trail of another spacecraft is visible in the sky above Mars. As the camera moves, there are more and more of them and opens a full-fledged spaceport with many rockets that have reached the Red Planet.
Elon Musk has previously said that SpaceX plans tobuild over a thousand starships by 2050 to take up to a million people to Mars. The new video appears to show that the company is not giving up on this plan. It is not known whether SpaceX will be able to fully implement this plan, but if Starship is successfully launched next week, it will be one step closer to this goal.
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On the cover: Starship, assembled on the basis of SpaceX. Photo: SpaceX