SpaceX’s Starship

Source: This post on SpaceX’s Starship has been created based on the article “Why SpaceX ‘catching’ Starship booster with robotic arms is significant” published in Indian Express on 15^th October 2024.

Why in news?

Recently, two giant robotic arms successfully caught the over 70-meter-long first stage booster of SpaceX’s Starship. This marks a significant step for Elon Musk’s company towards creating a fully reusable rocket system.

About Starship

1. SpaceX’s Starship system is a fully reusable transportation system. It consists of both the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket.

2. It is designed for missions that extend to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

3. This system is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle, with the ability to carry up to 150 metric tonnes in a reusable configuration and up to 250 metric tonnes when expendable.

4. The Starship system is capable of transporting up to 100 people on long-duration interplanetary flights, making it ideal for crewed missions across vast distances.

5. Additionally, it supports Earth-to-Earth travel, potentially completing most international trips in under 30 minutes.

6. With a larger payload compartment than the current Falcon rockets, Starship can deliver a diverse array of payloads, including multiple satellites, large space telescopes, and significant quantities of cargo, at a lower marginal cost per launch. This makes it a versatile choice for a wide range of missions.

7. For Moon missions, Starship is designed to transport large volumes of cargo to the lunar surface, which will be crucial for building a Moon base to support future space exploration.

8. In terms of Mars colonization, Starship offers an affordable solution for transporting both crew and cargo, which is essential for establishing a human presence on Mars.

Operating at high altitudes, it avoids atmospheric friction, turbulence, and weather-related delays, providing a smoother and faster travel experience.

9. The system utilizes on-orbit propellant refilling, allowing it to carry up to 100 tonnes to Mars after being refueled in low-Earth orbit.

10. On-orbit refilling is a key feature of Starship, with specialized tanker versions of the spacecraft used to refuel the main Starship vehicle in low-Earth orbit. This allows it to transport large payloads over long distances efficiently, with the primary cost being the liquid oxygen and methane propellants, which are relatively inexpensive.

About Mechazilla

1. Mechazilla is a colossal launch tower developed by SpaceX, equipped with massive robotic arms. I

2. Its primary purpose is to catch rockets midair during landing, which aids in the rapid reusability of rockets. Standing nearly 400 feet tall.

3. This innovation is central to Elon Musk’s goal of enabling a quick turnaround for rocket launches. During testing, Mechazilla successfully caught the Starship booster, impressing onlookers and preventing it from crashing into the ocean.

4. Mechazilla aims to capture rockets in mid-flight, thereby reducing downtime between launches.

UPSC Syllabus: Science and technology