SpaceX starship
Elon Musk is an entrepreneur from South Africa, and his career has been one stunning triumph after another. He started as a founder of Zip2 and sold out for $22 million. He then became a co-founder of Paypal and cashed out for $165 million. In rapid succession, he later became a co-founder of SpaceX, SolarCity, and Tesla. SolarCity is now the nation’s largest provider of solar power systems.
Elon believes as a species to go on, and he found a way to steer away from fossil fuels; and that’s why he invests and ends up running SolarCity and Tesla, which advances the use of Solar Energy. He believes that humans must become an interplanetary species to survive on other planets just in case something were to happen to Earth or else it would be game over for all humanity. Therefore, he creates SpaceX to advance this need.
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The Development of SpaceX
SpaceX starship has been trying to create its rockets back in 2002. This company has made another addition to technology with them launching a landmark commercial spacecraft not only once but twice back in 2009 and 2012.? At this particular time is when Elon had shown great interest in terrestrial matters. If one would have noticed, all three companies he had invested in are truly unique and have all brought changes in our present lives.
SpaceX stands for Space Exploration Technologies Corporation. It is a company with a great focus on creating spacecraft that can be used in commercial space travel. It has been built upon Elon’s goal of advancing the current state of rocket technology. Also, it is not surprising to know that he would establish such a company as he is an active member of the Mars Society. It is a non-profit organization that supports activities aiming to explore Mars. He even wanted to establish a greenhouse on the said planet, and he believed that his company would be able to accomplish that.
Collectively referred to as Starship, SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket represent a transportation system designed to be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle. The spacecraft is currently in development, with a new prototype under construction at its Texas facility. The company has already built a sub-scale demonstrator with a nose cone to test the new engines and demonstrated those operating successfully for controlled low-altitude flight. SpaceX displays retro exhibitions that capture the attention of people globally. SpaceX is among five companies that are qualified to perform robotic payloads to the lunar surface for NASA, through the agency’s (CLPS) Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
It intends to do this task with Starship and Super Heavy. This is the reusable spaceship-rocket pair that the company is advancing primarily to help mankind to become a multiplanet species. The latest assembled version of spacecraft resembles a stainless-steel Airstream trailer mated with a space shuttle. As technology advances, SpaceX continues to amaze in popularizing space exploration. The Starship is not only a completely reusable second stage and has an integrated payload section, but the Starship also serves as a large, long-duration spacecraft. It has done a fantastic job in exploring space, shown by its capability to transport cargo and passengers to Earth orbit, planetary destinations, and between destinations on Earth.
Prototype
There are a few more details about the prototype. The prototype is for suborbital Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL), testing. Orbital version is bigger, has more solid skins, and a smoother curving nose section. The spacecraft’s body diameter is about 30 feet, which is approximately 9 meters. The latest version will be used for short hopper flights. This will help in sending it up and then bringing it back down to test launch and landing systems.
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Raptor Engine
Raptor is a full-flow staged fire rocket engine powered by (LOX) liquid oxygen and cryogenic methane, rather than LOX and the RP-1 kerosene used in SpaceX’s prior Merlin engine type. 37 Raptors powers the Super Heavy booster, while Starship is powered by 6.
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Super Heavy
This booster stage is 223 feet or 68 meters long and 30 feet or 9 meters in diameter and has a total liftoff capacity of 8,110,000 lb or 3,680,000 kg. It is created of stainless steel tanks; the structure contains an oxygen liquid (CH4/LOX) propellants and subcooled liquid methane, which is powered by up to 37 Raptor rocket engines providing approximately16 million pounds-force (72,000 kN) total liftoff thrust. The booster is anticipated to ultimately return to Earth on the launch mount, even though it will originally have landing support to hold the first VTVL developing trial of Super Heavy. The primary prototype Super Heavy will be full size. It is intended, however, to initially fly with less than the full complement of 37 engines, probably 20 engines.
The entrepreneur has big plans for Starship. According to Elon, the goal of the spacecraft is to send one million people to Mars by 2050 ultimately. The purpose is to make it affordable enough for everyone to go to space when they feel like and provide available loans for those who can’t afford it.? SpaceX has already sold out a voyage around the moon and hopes to launch in 2023.
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Conclusion
Anyone who follows Elon Musk will know that he is a keen advocate of going to the Red Planet, and with engineers and scientists urging everyone to get behind and support an exploration mission that can take us a step ahead to a whole new frontier; today, this is slowly becoming more of a reality than a dream. The mission statement is something that many entrepreneurs tend to overlook. What makes you unique? Are you passionate about your mission?
It was never about the money. Elon Mush took the passion he had and applied it. And people responded. He has also invested in tons of other things, in which some have failed, while some have become extremely successful. Musk was always willing to take a risk, and that paved the way for him to become a billionaire. This is the secret of his success, the success that he is still enjoying up until today.