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Then today SpaceX achieved a full static fire of their Starship booster. They had to shut down one of the engines and another shut down on its own.

However, still the most engines ever fired on one booster and still the most thrust.

The NASA Space Launch System produces around 8m lbs of thrust with engines and solid rocket boosters firing. Starship, with 33 raptors, will produce over 17m lbs thrust. Today it was 31 raptors.

Another milestone to Mars met. Oh and the moon too as Starship is the launch booster for the NASA HLS (Human Lander System), for which SpaceX won the contract.

Video here.

Between them the efforts of SpaceX and NASA might mean that I could see the start of a Moon colony, something I did not think possible less than a decade ago.

NASA takes the people with SpaceX doing the heavy lifting of the necessary equipment.

Yes NASA are being pushed more and more to private services. I'm really anticipating this one because there are sooooo many things which can go wrong but if SpaceX have got it right, then the opportunities for the Human moon landing are huge. Also with the ability to ship 150t to the moon using ship refuelling, Starship will be able to carry the core infrastructure work needed.

Apollo could only move 43t to lunar orbit and most of that didn't come back.

Regardless of Mars aspirations even just for making the Artemis project a reality Starship has huge value. Even more so for launching the multiple space stations which will be required over time to service our space travel aspirations.

This has been a pretty big milestone. So far SpaceX in testing have had a blowup on an engine test which damaged the mount. Fired 14 engines which damaged the legs, cables, pipes and the concrete below. Fired 31 engines which appear to have done no damage. So it's progressing.

Next step is the disposable launch (no landing yet), for both the booster and the ship. We should look forward to around 5 of these launches this year. Artemis won't launch again with the SLS until next year.

If you have an interest is is a very active time in the space business.

In typical wordism style, they have a phrase for the in crowd on what may go wrong. They call it the wickwick event. Comes from some TV series I believe. Stands for on pad explosion taking out the rocket, launch stand, launch mount and the tank farm.

If they get it wrong it could be quite the spectacle. Then again if they get it right it will be quite the spectacle too.

Starship is the one on the right.

My initial thinking is 'do not duplicate'.

NASA has a manned land-and-lift off capsule, which is well advanced. SpaceX has the heavy lift capacity. Let them work together and not be competing for, roughly, the same thing.

Any Moon / Mars base will initially require loads of equipment, engineers and technicians to get the life and science modules built and up and running, the scientists can come later. I do hope all the brains behind this realise that simple truth.

Yes WM they do. But politics is what it is.

Starship is designed to take 100 people to Mars. Not sure how viable that number will be but it could certainly take 100 to the moon.

The SLS and the Artemis moon transfer module is designed to move 7 people to the moon. Artemis was envisioned more than a decade ago before the re-usable Falcon 9 existed. They carried on with that delivery regardless up until the launch earlier this year which orbited the moon with the Artemis module.

Meanwhile SpaceX created re-usable boosters and took over the space launch business. Created re-usable cargo dragon modules for the ISS supply then re-usable dragon crew module for crew to the ISS. Then they started on Starship. An interplanetary transfer vehicle for Mars. Different goals.

Now we have two systems to do the same job. One which is fully certified with NASA and the government and one which is in ultra rapid development but not even certified for the first test launch yet.

Starship HLS will go to the moon and then stay there. Being refuelled from a fuel depot which needs to be delivered to the moon and refilled as needed. Artemis is designed to launch the crew, dock with the lunar gateway station (in development), the crew will transfer to the HLS, land, do what they need to do, ascend, dock with the lunar gateway again and the Artemis module will return the crew to earth.

See diagram.



The thing is that Artemis will send a crew to orbit the moon in 2024. Then a crewed landing in 2025/6. In that time SpaceX need the Starship functional to launch the HlS, refuel, send fuel to the moon and send HLS to the moon. NASA has to deliver the Lunar gateway and more SLS launchers to get the crew to the gateway.

Where SpaceX will be when their Starship deliveries are done is open to debate. The system is not designed to send stuff to the moon, it is designed to be the workhorse for building a city on Mars.

So there will certainly be redundancy and money loss. We shall see.

What is happening with these space??? Balloons in America very interesting and intriguing????

Given that we have created a bubble about 4,000 light years in diameter and found some 6,000 potential planetary systems without anything remotely like a "liveable" planet among them I don't think we need worry too much about aliens. Anyway, if such do exist and have stumbled upon us they would be so far ahead of us, technology speaking, that they would not be using balloons to monitor us.

Yes anyone with the skill to get to us is highly unlikely to allow themselves to be seen by us. We are simply too violent and unpredictable and self destructive to engage with.