SpaceX launched its Mars rocket prototype from its facility in South Texas. It soared to an altitude of about six miles above Earth, performed several aerial acrobatics, re-lit two of its engines, and landed back upright on a landing pad.

The vehicle, designated as SN15, was the fifth rocket prototype of SpaceX and the first to do so successfully. CEO Elon Musk confirmed it via Twitter. The success of such a mission depends on the positive interaction between the teams who handle Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and applications related to Renewable Energy.

CNN says the four earlier attempts were unsuccessful and ended in explosions. SN15 is an early iteration of Starship. Elon Musk is upbeat about SpaceX and manned missions to the Moon and Mars. He is hopeful his Starship would transport the first humans to the red planet.

SN15 is a modified version of earlier ships, says SpaceX

The latest version of the vehicle had upgraded hardware and matching software apart from improved communication and navigation systems. Its Raptor engines are also massive.

CNN explains that during a media event in September 2019, Musk had talked about the probable landing method of Starship. He had visualized a scene where the rocket would realign itself to land with its belly pointed toward the Earth.

This mode is important to guarantee a fully reusable transportation system for carrying out a wide range of activities associated with outer space. Recycled SpaceX rockets were recently used to ferry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

Plans of SpaceX include a vehicle for the Artemis program of NASA

The prototypes SN10 and SN11 exploded.

SN10 did land upright in March, but it exploded within three minutes of landing. The next one was SN11 - it exploded during landing on a beach, and the shrapnel endangered people who were present nearby to capture the landing on a video. CNN reports all the prototypes of SpaceX's Starship were less powerful than the final product Musk has in mind.

It seems most of the test vehicles have had three engines.

However, the final version would be equipped with more than 30. SpaceX plans to provide a modified version of the vehicle to NASA for its Artemis moon program. Starship will come to the limelight to transport astronauts from a space station orbiting the moon down to the lunar surface. This could become a reality within the next few years. In April last year, SpaceX sent astronauts from American soil to the International Space Station after nearly a decade.

SpaceX wants its Starship to carry a crew of mission Mars

According to France 24, the prototype Starship rocket of SpaceX landed successfully at its base in Texas. It happened after five failed attempts.

It was a major win for the company, and it set the pace for subsequent movement of the crew in its Starship for missions to Mars. Elon Musk confirmed the success. He wants his Starship to ferry crew to Mars. Before that, he could help NASA to ferry its astronauts to the moon. NASA already has ideas to use its SLS rocket with a crew capsule called Orion affixed on top. However, it has faced delays and cost overruns. Therefore, if Starship succeeds, it might edge out SLS. Elon Musk wants to redefine the concept of space travel. He wants to transform humanity into a multi-planetary species on Mars.

A news report of 2017 mentions building a colony on Mars. There is a need to train would-be inhabitants of Mars who have to get acclimatized to the harsh environment of the Red Planet.

It is doubtful whether the initial batch of settlers would get an opportunity to return to Earth. NASA already has its robots Curiosity and InSight on Mars. Its helicopter Ingenuity recently took off and landed back on the alien planet. The American Space Agency is working on a plan, and these are the stepping stones.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED