In this blog, we will explore the innovative SpaceX Project. It focuses on its groundbreaking advancements in reusable rocket technology, missions to the International Space Station, and the ambitious development of Starship for future Mars colonization. We will also discuss the impact of SpaceX on space travel its role in reducing mission costs, and how it is paving the way for humanity’s journey to becoming an interplanetary species. Additionally, we’ll cover the challenges and future possibilities of space exploration driven by SpaceX’s vision.

Introduction to SpaceX Project “Starship”

SpaceX Starship (also known as “Starship”) is a fully reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by SpaceX. It was first announced by Elon Musk in September 2017. After it is put into use, Starship will replace Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon spacecraft to perform missions in low-Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit. In addition to low-Earth orbit, Starship can also complete Earth-Moon transfer and landing on Mars after refueling in orbit.

On June 6, local time, the Starship rocket system of SpaceX, a tech billionaire Musk, finally succeeded in its fourth test flight, pushing this heavy rocket to a new milestone.

At 8:50 a.m. that day, the Starship was launched at the Starship base near Boca Chica, Texas. A few minutes after the launch, the rocket booster successfully landed softly in the Gulf of Mexico. This was also the first time that SpaceX recovered the booster intact.

After circling the earth halfway, the rocket successfully re-entered the atmosphere and landed in the Indian Ocean, achieving a milestone victory. The entire flight process took about 90 minutes.

Musk posted a congratulatory message on the X platform after the rocket returned. He said: “Although the Starship lost a lot of debris and the flaps were damaged, it still successfully returned all the way and landed softly in the ocean!”

SpaceX Project Starship exploration

The company began developing the Mars Colonization System (MCT, the predecessor of Starship) around 2012, and the Raptor rocket engine used in the rocket began testing in 2016. SpaceX began to manufacture the first rocket prototype of BFR in March 2018, and Elon Musk subsequently announced the follow-up plan for BFR at a press conference. At the press conference, Musk renamed BFR, calling the first-stage booster Super Heavy and the second-stage spacecraft Starship.

SpaceX also stated that its initial expectation was to launch a cargo version of Starship to Mars in 2022, followed by a manned mission in 2024. The plan includes a reusable launch vehicle and ground infrastructure to support rapid launch and reuse of rockets. SpaceX will also develop technology that can be refueled in low Earth orbit. As a super-heavy launch vehicle, Starship can have a low Earth orbit capacity of up to 150 metric tons (150 long tons).

Today, SpaceX Starship is using stainless steel to build a series of Starship prototypes for testing. Because stainless steel is cheap and easy to process, the prototype construction has become very fast. SpaceX hopes to build a dedicated production line for prototypes, which will allow SpaceX to test rockets more frequently and quickly identify problems, which SpaceX can then quickly make improvements to address.

SpaceX Starship’s previous name was “Name Evolution”

As early as 2005, SpaceX Project Starship used “BFR” as the name for its planned super-heavy rocket, saying that “BFR” would “far exceed the performance of the Falcon series of rockets.” Its goal is to have an orbital capacity of 100 tons (220,000 pounds). Since mid-2013, SpaceX has referred to the entire mission and rocket as the Mars Colonial Transporter. [10] When the 12-meter diameter design was unveiled in September 2016, SpaceX Starship referred to the entire system as the Interplanetary Transport System (ITS), and the launch vehicle itself as the ITS launch vehicle.

In September 2017, SpaceX Starship unveiled a new 9-meter diameter design, which was renamed “BFR”. Elon Musk said at the launch event that “we are looking for an official name, but the code name, for now, is BFR.” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell later stated that the full name of BFR is “Big Falcon Rocket”.

However, Elon Musk has explained in the past that he drew inspiration for the name BFR from the BFG weapon in the game Doom. Because the BFG weapon in Doom 3 is called the Big Fucking Gun, BFR is occasionally referred to as the “Big Fucking Rocket” by the media.

The second stage of the rocket is a spacecraft that can fly independently. From 2017 to 2018, the second stage was called “BFS” ​​(Big Falcon Ship). At a launch event, the second stage spacecraft was renamed “Starship”, the first stage booster was named “Superheavy”, and the entire rocket was named “Starship”.

History and Beginnings of SpaceX Project “Starship”

As early as 2007, Elon Musk stated that his personal goal was to eventually allow humans to explore and colonize Mars. The outlines of the plan for a Mars landing were gradually revealed between 2011 and 2015, with a 2014 announcement stating that the first colonists would arrive on Mars no earlier than 2025. As of mid-2016, the plan still set the date as no earlier than 2025.

• In 2011, Musk said in an interview that he hoped to send humans to Mars within 10 to 20 years. In late 2012, he said he envisioned a Martian colony with a population of tens of thousands, with colonists arriving on Mars no earlier than 2025.
• In March 2012, news reports claimed that the Raptor rocket engine’s upper stage had begun development, but SpaceX did not release any details at the time.
• October 2012, Musk outlined a high-level plan to build a second reusable rocket system with a greater capability than the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, which SpaceX Starship had already spent billions of dollars on. The new launch vehicle would be an “evolution” of the Falcon 9 and would be significantly larger. However, Musk said SpaceX would not publicly announce the plan until 2013.
• In June 2013, Musk said he intended to delay an initial public offering of SpaceX until the Mars Colonial Transporter was flying regularly.
• In August 2014, media sources speculated that the first test flights of SpaceX’s Super Heavy rocket could take place as early as 2020 to fully test the engine under orbital flight conditions.
• In early 2015, Musk said he hoped to release details of a “completely new architecture” for the Mars Colonial Transporter by the end of 2015. Musk’s plans were ultimately delayed by a SpaceX launch accident, and SpaceX did not resume launches until late December 2015.
• September 2016, Musk unveiled a SpaceX Starship concept for a 12-meter (39 ft.) diameter large transport rocket: the ITS launch vehicle.

ITS Launch Vehicle

The ITS launch vehicle would be used exclusively for interplanetary transport. Musk also discussed the details of the SpaceX Mars transport mission. This included data on the ITS launch vehicle (core diameter, rocket structural materials, number and type of engines, thrust, cargo, and passenger payload capacity), an on-orbit propellant-tanker replenishment system, the estimated time required for the transport, and a portion of the Mars and Earth infrastructure. To complete the Mars transport mission, SpaceX would need to build a fleet of three vehicles.

The Three different Rockets

• ITS Booster, the first stage of the launch vehicle
• ITS Spaceship, a long-duration habitation/cargo spacecraft that serves as the rocket’s second stage
• ITS Tanker, another second stage designed to carry more propellant to refuel other ITS rockets in space

The presentation also laid out a larger vision, hoping that other interested parties (whether companies, individuals, or governments) would be able to take advantage of the new, much lower-cost transportation infrastructure that SpaceX Starship hopes to build to achieve a sustainable human civilization on Mars.

In July 2017, Musk said that the ITS design had “improved a lot”. The improved design makes the system more suitable for a large number of Earth orbit and cis launches so that the system can pay for itself through space economic activity in the near-Earth space region.