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DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

  • 28 April, 2023

  • Min Read

Starship

  • Recently, SpaceX launched its Starship cruise ship from the Super Heavy rocket in an unmanned test mission. The upper-stage Starship, however, was unable to separate from the lower-stage Super Heavy, and as a result, the vehicle exploded.
  • Elon Musk established the for-profit business SpaceX in 2002.

What is the Starship Project?

  • Known as Starship as a whole, SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket are a fully reusable transportation system intended to take both passengers and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
  • A starship will be able to transport 250 metric tonnes of throwaway cargo and up to 150 metric tonnes of fully reusable cargo.
  • Several Raptor engines that run on liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane (CH4) power the Starship Super Heavy.
  • The first-stage booster is powered by 33 Raptor engines altogether.
  • To refuel the Starship spaceship in low-Earth orbit, it uses tanker vehicles, which are essentially ships without windows.
  • At Starbase, one of the first commercial spaceports in the world created for orbital missions, Starship is developed and produced.

What are Space X's other major projects?

  • Falcon 9: The Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed to carry passengers and payloads reliably and securely into Earth orbit and beyond.
  • SpaceX boasts that Falcon Heavy is by a factor of two the most powerful rocket in the world.
  • At liftoff, its 27 Merlin engines, spread across three Falcon 9 nine-engine cores, produce more than 5 million pounds of thrust.
  • In a gas-generator power cycle, Merlin engines employ liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) as rocket propellants.

Starshield and Starlink:

  • Globally accessible high-speed, low-latency broadband internet is offered through Starlink.
  • Its largest constellation of cutting-edge satellites, which are in a low orbit around the Earth, enables its high-speed, low-latency service.
  • To aid in efforts to maintain national security, Starshield makes use of the technology and launch capability of Starlink.
  • Starshield is intended for use by the government, whereas Starlink is intended for consumer and business use.

Source: Indian Express


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