SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday that the version of the Starship spacecraft planned for the launch vehicle's seventh test flight features "major" design improvements.
What Happened: "Lighter, easier to manufacture and less susceptible to high heating," Musk said in a post on X about the new version of the spacecraft.
Major design improvement. Lighter, easier to manufacture and less susceptible to high heating.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2024
While SpaceX often makes design changes to Starship, the vehicle planned for its seventh flight test will feature "significant upgrades," the company said last month. They will have redesigned forward flaps, larger propellant tanks, and the latest generation tiles and secondary thermal protection layers, it added.
SpaceX rolled out Starship to the launch pad at Starbase for testing ahead of its next flight test earlier this week and its booster last week, implying an imminent launch. The company, however, did not specify when the next flight would be.
Starship is currently in the testing and development phase. The company has conducted six test flights of the vehicle thus far starting in April 2023 but without a payload. The last flight test took place in November.
Why It Matters: The Starship vehicle is part of big dreams. While NASA is looking forward to landing humans back on the surface of the Moon after a gap of over 50 years with the help of a custom version of Starship, Musk is dreaming of taking humans to the planet Mars aboard Starship.
"...I would not be surprised if we fly 400 Starship launches in the next four years," SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said at the Baron Investment Conference in New York last month.
For the upcoming flight test, SpaceX will attempt to land the Starship spacecraft in the ocean yet again.
"We will do one more ocean landing of the ship. If that goes well, then SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower (launch tower at Starbase)," Musk previously said.
Amid this, SpaceX hit a valuation of $350 billion following a recent insider share sale, surging 67% from its previous valuation of $210 billion.
While SpaceX is currently a private entity, investors can leverage Destiny Tech100 Inc. (NYSE:DXYZ) and Cathie Wood's Ark Venture Fund (NASDAQ:ARKVX) to participate in the Musk-led space company's growth.
Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
SpaceX Hits $350 Billion Valuation In Insider Share Sale: CEO Elon Musk Says 'No Investors Wanted To Sell Shares'
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While SpaceX often makes design changes to Starship, the vehicle planned for its seventh flight test will feature "significant upgrades," the company said last month. They will have redesigned forward flaps, larger propellant tanks, and the latest generation tiles and secondary thermal protection layers, it added.
SpaceXは、先月、スターシップに設計変更を加えることが多いですが、7回目の飛行試験のために計画されている宇宙船には「重要なアップグレード」があると述べました。前方フラップの再設計、大型の推進剤タンク、最新世代のタイルおよび二次熱保護層が含まれます。