The World’s Largest Rocket Is About to Get Even Bigger

This past Monday, October 13, Starship Version 2 launched for the last time, ending its nearly two-year run on a high note. Megarocket’s 11th suborbital test flight marked the final launch of this iteration of the starship, paving the way for an upgraded version equipped with larger and more efficient Raptor engines.

Version 3 of Starship is Set to debut in 2026SpaceX’s launch vehicle begins orbital testing. This version of the starship will carry payloads into orbit and travel to the Moon and Mars. The upgraded vehicle will be about 5 feet longer (1.5 meters), able to carry more propellant and equipped with new docking adapters for in-orbit fuel transfer.

Starships are meant to fly

The latest flight of the starship was another great success. SpaceX performed several in-flight demonstrations for the launch of the upgraded version of the rocket. The second-generation prototype flew in a suborbital trajectory like its previous mission and deployed eight Starlink simulators.

The last two flights of the starship were successful, but they followed one The mission failure string That plagued the rocket’s first three launches of the year. Although version 2 ended on a high, it had a rather turbulent run. Nevertheless, the company is now focusing on an upgraded version of its rocket.

“The focus now turns to the next generation of starships and superheavies, with multiple vehicles currently in active build and preparing for testing,” SpaceX wrote. statement. “This next iteration will be used for the first Starship orbital flights, operational payload missions, propellant transfers and more as we iterate on a complete and rapidly reusable vehicle with service to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.”

The next-generation upgrade to the current prototype is a larger vehicle capable of carrying more propellant. The rocket will also use third-generation Raptor engines, a more powerful and efficient version of its engines.

“We’re also getting energy storage upgrades, a lot of avionics changes — a lot of things that will enable long-duration missions,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Hutt said during a webcast of Starship’s 11th test flight.

To prepare the rocket for missions beyond low Earth orbit, the company will need to equip the Starship with a ship-to-ship propellant transfer system to fuel the vehicle in space.

“One of the notable things you’ll start to see from the outside is this new docking adapter, which we’ll use when we bring the two starships together for propellant transfer,” Hutt said. “It’s a core capability of the starship that we’re going to demonstrate next year.”

As with any new vehicle prototype, there will be a learning curve with the next-generation Starship. During an interview in September, SpaceX founder Elon Musk revealed that “almost everything changes in the rocket with version 3.” The upgraded Starship “may have some initial teething pains because it’s such a radical redesign,” he added.

Considering the rocket’s new advancements, Starship Version 3 may take some time to perfect these orbital flights. Musk has previously said he wants to send an uncrewed starship to Mars during an upcoming launch window next year, but it’s unclear if the rocket will be ready to travel to a new world by then.