SpaceX Shares Aerial Photos of 396-Foot Starship Rocket Fully Stacked on Orbital Launch Pad in Texas as Elon Musk Teases Blast Off Debut

SpaceX teased Starship's upcoming launch by sharing an aerial view of the spacecraft fully stacked on its launch pad.

Space X Will Likely Launch Starship in 2 Months

The 395 feet rocket built by Elon Musk's firm SpaceX is ready to take off. The company shares aerial photos of the rocket on its orbital launch pad at its Texas facility in Boca Chica, Texas, Daily Mail reported.

With the aerial shots showing Starship being fully stacked on its orbital launch pad, the outlet noted that the launch could happen anytime soon. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk previously said that a full-scale orbital test flight could happen in 2020. However, they fell short of accomplishing it.

However, on Jan. 8, he tweeted that they have a "real shot" to launch Starship in late February. He added that a March launch attempt is "highly likely."

He also doubled down on his previous statement, and Starship could blast off earlier than March because, in a more recent tweet, he said the launch attempt for Starship would be soon.

Musk aims to carry people and cargo to the moon and Mars via a two-stage spacecraft composed of a Starship for the passenger-carrying section and a Super Heavy rocket booster. Together, the rocket measures 394 feet (120 meters) and weighs 11 million pounds (5 million kilograms).

Starship can reportedly generate 16 million pounds (70 Meganewtons) of thrust, making it one of the most powerful rockets in the world. SpaceX has been testing prototypes of the $216 million Starship, previously known as "BFR," by launching them into the air and landing them.

Musk had been confident in launching Starship, even saying previously that it would orbit sometime in 2022, which did not materialize. So, some fans have to take his announcement with a grain of salt, Daily Mail noted.

More About Starship

The spacecraft is reusable and can carry a maximum payload to low-Earth orbit of up to 220,000-330,000 pounds (100-150 tonnes) and 220,000 pounds (100 tonnes) to lunar orbit. It uses oxygen and methane for its fuel.

Starship is powered by 32 Raptor engines and can carry up to 100 passengers.

It costs SpaceX $216 to build the spacecraft. According to Musk, the price per launch is around $2 million.

What's Elon Musk's Plan for Starships

The Tesla CEO wants to make human life "multi-planetary" and allow people to live on several planets. The task might require thousands of Starships.

Musk is convinced that a natural or man-made disaster will end human civilization on Earth, making the need to relocate to another planet. There are speculations that COVID-19 could worsen, birth rates will decrease, and a nuclear Armageddon or killer comet might hit the Earth or take out a continent. According to him, Mars is a realistic option.

NASA has also contracted SpaceX to use Starship to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2025 as part of its Artemis program, the successor to the Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s.

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