The Starship Singularity

Related Categories: Military Innovation; Science and Technology; SPACE; NASA; China; Russia

In May 2020, SpaceX freed the U.S. government from the bonds of Russian space launch services by sending astronauts into space on American-made reusable rockets. The company is once again about to embark on a potentially game-changing mission. In the coming months, SpaceX plans to conduct its first orbital test flight of Starship, the company’s flagship super heavy-lift launch vehicle (Figure 1). Starship, due to its reusability, size, and power, will dramatically improve access to low Earth orbit by yielding low-cost launches of payloads up to 100 metric tons. This will support the expansion of public-and private-sector activity in space, including space tourism, space-based solar power, and the installation and servicing of telecommunications and military satellites...

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