52. Starship

Starship is a SpaceX invention that will test launch tomorrow (April 19, 2023). In the near future, it is going to be used to take humans to mars via the moon comfortably. Starship is now the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, overpowering that of Artemis and the famous Saturn V.

Starship is the most powerful rocket ever launched, overpowering the Artemis rocket which I talked about a few weeks back. The starship rocket is methane-powered, meaning it is twice as powerful as it's competitor, the falcon 9. The starship has around 37 million horsepower! to give you an estimate of how much that is, the Red Bull formula one only has 900 horsepower.

The space shuttle like capsule at the top is where the payload and crew are. It's the second stage of the rocket (yes, it does have fuel in it) that will fly solo in space. The second stage is very spacious, unlike most rockets, with multiple rooms filled with stuff like:

• Farms

• dining rooms

• living rooms

• storage rooms

Basically like a house, but you can float.

The first stage (aka super heavy) is down below the second stage. Super heavy is at ground level on the launch pad and is the giant booster that initially will bring the starship module off the ground. Super heavy is powered by 33 'raptor' engines, which are the methane-powered rocket engines that sit on the bottom of the spacecraft.

Starship is like nothing the world has ever seen and it is our best chance at the moment of starting a civilisation on Mars and then beyond our solar system.

Until next time, Give Me Space!