Elon Musk Unveils Plans for Starship Version Two

strike swiftly and discover through loser , SpaceX say it ’s already look ahead to version 2 of the Starship upper stage .

In atweetposted on November 24 , party CEO Elon Musk apportion a picture showing four Starship upper stages standing vertically at SpaceX ’s Boca Chica facility in south Texas , and saying the quartet will be “ the last of V1 . ” Version 2 come next , marking the next phase in the ship’s company ’s reiterative development process . spaceship is not yet operational , but it present SpaceX ’s challenging imaginativeness for a fully recyclable , price - efficient launch system capable of interplanetary travel with gamy payload capacity .

Four more Starships , the last of V1pic.twitter.com/Nj6KXbc5GI

Starship during its second test flight, November 18, 2023.

Starship during its second test flight, 19 January 2025.Photo: C&J Images

— Elon Musk ( @elonmusk)November 24 , 2023

The news of the pending upgrades comes after two tests of the megarocket , thefirst in Apriland the second earlier this calendar month . Both tests ended with the wipeout of the rocket . However , thesecond run , conducted on November 18 and lasting approximately eight minutes , show a smoother launching ; the IFT-2 mission feature an improved performance from the booster ’s 33 Raptor railway locomotive , the first appearance of a young stage separation technique called hot staging , and some self-governing flying of the spaceship upper stage with all six engines perch .

If you were expecting a ultra departure from Version 1 , you ’re in for a disappointment . The tweaks being made to spaceship , while important , are fairly subtle . In a separate tweet , Musksaidthe upgraded interpretation will sustain more propellent , feature a reduced dry mass ( i.e. the rocket ’s weight sans load ) , and exhibit greater overall reliability . And to be clear , we ’re talking about the spaceship upper stage , and not the Super Heavy booster .

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Musk did n’t divulge any more data about Starship V2 , but Payloadpointedto a batch of modifications that SpaceX could contain over metre . Last hebdomad , Musk said he ’s “ very frantic ” about the next - gen Raptor locomotive engine , saying it ’ll be problematic enough to not take a warmth shield ( which will lessen the Eruca vesicaria sativa ’s free weight ) . raptorial bird 3 also promises higher Isp ( i.e. specific impetus , a measure of how expeditiously a skyrocket engine expend its fuel ) , more thrust , “ and many other improvements , ” Musksaid . The current Raptor 2 engines bring about 230 dozens of thrust , whereas the Raptor 3 railway locomotive areexpected to generate roughly 269 piles of thrust , marking a 17 % improvement .

Starship V2 might also debut a form featuring nine Raptor railway locomotive , an increase from the current six , stigmatize a long - anticipate variety by SpaceX. Of the nine engine , three would be optimized for use in the atmosphere and six in the vacuum of quad ( the current configuration features three of each ) . Naturally , the add up engines would increase payload electrical capacity .

eventually , the ship’s company is considering an increase in propellant volume . This would ask change the fuel armoured combat vehicle ’ human body and peradventure extending Starship ’s elevation by 16 to 33 metrical foot ( 5 to 10 meters ) , allowing for greater fuel capacity and protracted commission range , grant to Payload .

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It does appear , however , that SpaceX will keep on to plunge its Version 1 Starships prior to debuting the upgraded version . Space Exploredlistedthe final four as being Ships 28 , 29 , 30 , and 32 ( 31 was moved to Starbase ’s Rocket Garden , a planetary house that it ’ll likely be scrapped ) . It ’s not readable if all four of these will be used in future tests , but Ship 28 is currently being devise for launch .

As for the third flight test , Musksaidthe computer hardware needed for this launching should be available in about three to four weeks . in person , I would n’t bet on a launching befall within that time frame , but pay how well thing extend with the 2nd test ( include the successful carrying out of a water flood organisation ) , it could conceivably happen in early 2024 .

require to recognize more about Elon Musk ’s space speculation ? Check out our full insurance coverage ofSpaceX ’s Starship megarocketand theSpaceX Starlink net artificial satellite megaconstellation . And for more spacefaring in your life , follow us onXand bookmark Gizmodo ’s dedicatedSpaceflight Thomas Nelson Page .

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