Elon Musk is developing a space rocket that could be a game changer for intergalactic travel. Starship , as it is known, will be a fully reusable transportation system capable of transporting up to 100 people towards the conquest of Mars, the main aerospace objective of humanity after landing on the moon back in 1969.
The founding ethos of Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company, SpaceX, is to make human life a multiplanetary affair (hey, expand it to other planets). He himself assures that the colonization of humans on other worlds such as Mars could preserve civilization if the Earth experienced a cataclysm, such as the impact of a large asteroid, or destruction due to the consequences of climate change.
Towards the conquest of other worlds
“The history of humanity has two possible endings. One of them is that we stay on Earth forever, waiting for some natural catastrophe to cause our extinction […] The alternative is to become a space civilization and a species that travels and conquering other planets, so I hope everyone agrees that this is the right way to go,” Musk said in 2016.
The SpaceX founder has often spoken about his dream of building cities on Mars . He believes that the settlements would need large numbers of people to become self-sufficient. Making this dream a reality requires a vehicle that’s up to the task, and Starship is a combination of rockets and spacecraft that could carry more than 100 people to the distant red planet.
Starship, the ticket to Mars
The system is designed to be completely and quickly reusable. Being completely reusable means that the main hardware elements do not pollute natural environments such as the sea, nor are they allowed to burn, as is the case with other launch systems, but are completely biodegradable, and can even be recycled and used again in other space adventures.
Fast reuse means that after returning from space, Starship can be re-equipped with a booster, refueled, and ready to launch again in a short amount of time, just like a plane. This reduces the astronomical costs incurred by the company each time it prepares and executes a launch.
This is Starship
At launch, the spacecraft, called the Starship, will sit atop a rocket called the Super Heavy. The combined system will have a height of 120 m. With its nose and landing fins, the stainless steel vehicle resembles rockets from the golden age of science fiction. At the rear of the 50m-long craft are six highly efficient Raptor engines, developed over a decade by SpaceX. Combustion takes place in several stages and the design of the engine reduces the amount of fuel that is wasted.
Towards the middle of the vehicle are the fuel tanks. These feed liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (O2) to the Raptors.
