SpaceX Reusable Starship Prototype To Take Flight In 2020

SpaceX Starship Ready To Launch

The prototype Starship with its futuristic look was built this summer on the South Texas coast and will begin testing in the coming months. The launching and landing of the Starship will be done in suborbital up-and-down flights, similar to the testing of the Falcon rocket booster ‘Grasshopper'.

SpaceX To Build Starship Fleet

Elon Musk also mentioned that the yet-to-be-built Super Heavy first-stage booster will also be ready next year. Adding to it, Musk noted that reusable SpaceX will build a fleet of Starships and launch them from Texas and Florida.

"When it comes to going to uncharted territory, it is quite difficult to predict things with precision," the CEO said. "Our plan is basically in one to two months to do the 20km flight with Starship Mk. 1. Our next flight after that might just be all the way to orbit with a booster and the ship," he said.

Starship At Launch Facility

SpaceX plans to keep building spaceships for its ultimate goal of setting up a colony on Mars with a self-sustaining city. According to Musk, the rocket engine production will have a target to build a new engine a day till early next year.

SpaceX Futuristic Space Missions

SpaceX has come a long way since its establishment in 2002. With three failed launches initially and going bankrupt, SpaceX has finally set a strong foothold in the industry. At the media briefing, a Falcon 1 Rocket was set next to the completed Starship Mk.1 prototype to give viewers a sense of scale and to act as a visual reminder of just how far the company has come.

Speaking of costs, SpaceX claims that Starship and Super Heavy can deliver satellites to orbit at a lower marginal cost per launch when compared to the current Falcon vehicles. If it all goes according to plan, SpaceX could potentially see people flying next year.