Categories: Science

SpaceX Mars Starship rocket prototype to fly soon: Elon Musk

&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;SpaceX will attempt to fly a prototype of its Mars Starship rocket this week, said CEO Elon Musk.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;Starship is SpaceX&#039;s ambitious spacecraft to take humans to the Red Planet. The company has been working on prototypes to find the right design that will work for transport.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;Musk revealed on Twitter that the latest version of the prototype, SN5, &quot;will attempt to fly later this week.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;This does not mean SpaceX will attempt to send a spacecraft to Mars this week itself.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;According to a report in CNET on Wednesday, the first flight of SN5 is expected to be a 150-meter &quot;hop.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;Last year, such a flight was performed by an earlier Starship prototype dubbed &quot;Starhopper&quot;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;SpaceX says its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;The company has been rapidly iterating on the design of Starship with orbital-flight targeted for 2020.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class=&quot;p1&quot;&gt;The previous iteration of the Starship prototype, SN4, exploded right after a static fire test in May this year.&lt;/p&gt;.

IANS