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By Leo Chen
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft will launch and reach orbit for the first time in Florida along with the Super Heavy rocket this year in 2022. Starship is a fully reusable spacecraft, designed to be capable of carrying many passengers to a destination far away. This spacecraft could be used for many things in the future if it works. 50 meters tall and 9 meters wide, Elon Musk eventually plans to build 1,000 Starships to colonize Mars.
Super Heavy is a 69 meter tall and 9-meter wide rocket booster and the first stage of the Starship launch. Super Heavy uses sub-cooled methane and oxygen to propel Starship into space. After separation, Super Heavy is designed to land back on Earth, ready to be reused.
Starship is the largest spacecraft ever built, designed to be able to carry 220,000 pounds of payload. Since Starship is reusable, passengers should be able to make many trips. It also would cut down costs. Elon Musk has estimated that each mission would only cost around 2 million dollars. In comparison, other spacecraft can use around 1 billion per mission.
Many Starship prototypes have been tested. The 20th Starship prototype, or SN20, is engine testing in Texas. The SN20 will be the first prototype to include the Super Heavy booster. It is also planned to be the first prototype to enter space. If the tests and everything needed to go well, Starship might launch later this year. Planetary scientist Ali Bramson says, “Starship would totally change the way that we can do solar system exploration.”
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