Name: SpaceX Is About To Launch Its Prototype Starship Mars Rocket On Its Most Ambitious Flight Yet
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SpaceX Is About To Launch Its Prototype Starship Mars Rocket On Its Most Ambitious Flight Yet

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...© 2022 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights ReservedThis site uses cookiesContinue to SiteTo give you a great browsing experience free of charge, this site uses cookies. Cookies help us personalize content and ads, provide social media features,track your preferences, and analyze traffic. Forbes may share this information with its advertising, analytics, and social media partners, who may use itwith information you have provided to them in connection with their services.For more information:&nbsp;To consent and proceed, click "Continue to Site."Nov 27, 2020,In the annals of history, “SN8” may be a moniker many space fans look back fondly on.Next week, his SpaceX company will attempt to fly its prototype Starship rocket – designed to one day take people to Mars – to its highest altitude yet.Dubbed SN8, or serial number 8, this will also be the first flight of a Starship prototype with the nose cone attached on top, giving it a more finished look.The launch will take place from Boca Chica in Texas, the location for SpaceX’s development and testing of its Starship vehicle.Previously, it has flown more primitive Starship prototypes without a nose cone on short hops, up to 150 meters into the air, before bringing them back to a landing on the ground.The flight of SN8, however, will be a whole different beast.MORE FOR YOUSo far, Starship prototypes have flown with just one of the company’s on board. SN8, meanwhile, will be the first to fly with three.It will aim to reach a height of 15 kilometers before it flips around and descends belly first, simulating what a future return from orbit might look like.“Goals are to test 3 engine ascent, body flaps, transition from main to header tanks &amp; landing flip,” Musk wrote on earlier this week, following a successful static fire test of the rocket.However, the landing of the vehicle is not guaranteed. “Lot of things need to go right, so maybe 1/3 chance,” Musk added in a later . “But that's why we have SN9 and SN10.”SpaceX, which launched humans for NASA earlier this month, has made no secret that its of Starship, built quickly and in escalating complexity, each have a considerable degree of failure on each test.Indeed, several Starship prototypes have experienced failures. SN3 in April 2020, SN4 following its own static fire test, and even SN8 has .But the company hopes that developing prototypes quickly will be the best way to make this ambitious rocket a reality.Starship, which will launch on top of a single reusable booster known as Super Heavy, would be the most powerful rocket in history, towering 70 meters high.SpaceX wants to use it first to more easily launch its . While the company’s existing Falcon 9 rocket can launch 60 Starlink satellites per flight, Starship could launch .Ultimately, however, the goal is to use Starship and Super Heavy to , and potentially other destinations in the Solar System too.The company is a long way from realising that goal. But if it can prove that a full-scale Starship vehicle can fly and return to Earth as intended, it will take a major step towards it.Eventually, perhaps next year, the company hopes to reach orbit for the first time with a subsequent Starship prototype.But first, we'll see Starship fly to 15 kilometers, flip around, and descend belly-first back to Earth. Whether that's SN8 next week, or SN9 or SN10 at a later date, it'll certainly be a sight to behold.&nbsp;to your inbox with the latest insights from experts across the globe.Jonathan is a freelance space and science journalist that specializes in commercial spaceflight, space exploration, astronomy, and astrophysics. Alongside Forbes, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, Nature, New Scientist, Wired, and a variety of other publications. He also makes occasional TV and radio appearances for the BBC and elsewhere, providing analysis on the latest space news. You can see more of his writing or get in contact at jonathanocallaghan.com.Loading ...{{^loggedIn}}Sign in here{{/loggedIn}}You've reached your limit of free articles.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;to continue reading.Subscribe to continue reading.SubscribeSubscribeSubscribefree articlesLearn morefree articlesSubscribefree articlesSubscribefree articlesGet unlimited accessShare© 2022 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

...© 2022 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights ReservedThis site uses cookiesContinue to SiteTo give you a great browsing experience free of charge, this site uses cookies. Cookies help us personalize content and ads, provide social media features,track your preferences, and analyze traffic. Forbes may share this information with its advertising, analytics, and social media partners, who may use itwith information you have provided to them in connection with their services.For more information:&nbsp;To consent and proceed, click "Continue to Site."Nov 27, 2020,In the annals of history, “SN8” may be...

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SpaceX Is About To Launch Its Prototype Starship Mars Rocket On Its Most Ambitious Flight Yet

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