The space program is alive and well out near the Kennedy Space Center on the east coast of Florida in Brevard County.
That’s where SpaceX is in the midst of its prototype Starship project. Despite a recent test, aired online, where a prototype vehicle exploded while undergoing a high-pressure test, Elon Musk’s team moves forward, with the idea of sending people into space just as easily as it would be for them to get on an airplane.
In the test, the Starship research team pressurized the capsule to the maximum threshold, so the test served to show where the “red line” is.
The propulsion system has been shown to work well, as it flew over 150 meters off the ground during an August test, then returned to the ground safely. The sky is the limit, literally and figuratively, when paired with the SpaceX Super Heavy rocket booster. It will sport 37 of its own cryogenic fuel-powered Raptor engines, and payloads will have six engines of their own to assist with the thrust.
That amount of propulsion, along with a futuristic design made out of stainless steel, would be enough to send up to 100 passengers and some cargo into the atmosphere. With a transport mode in place, the possibility exists of the long-term goal shared by NASA and SpaceX of colonizing the planet Mars. Later versions of the capsule could be used to send astronauts and supplies –repeatedly, since the capsule would be reusable — to the International Space Station.
So keep looking toward eastward toward the Atlantic and into the sky to see what SpaceX is doing to make a positive difference in the future!
