Blimey, if he pulls that off, I'd like to watch it launch...

Just geeky dream stuff - but a logical progression….

Yep something of the Gerry Anderson about it! I presume it is supposed to be a lifting body...

Spaceship 20 passes cryo testing - but environmental review extended into November. So little chance of a launch this year I would think.


https://www.reuters.com/business/sus...as-2021-09-30/

U.S. extends environmental review for SpaceX program in Texas

very kewl ⚡

Definitely looks like the start of a Thunderbirds episode. 😁

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-sup...-installation/

SpaceX installs full set of car-sized grid fins on second Super Heavy booster

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/2...ble-rocket.htm

SpaceX Starship Payload: 250 Tons to Orbit As Expendable, 150 for Reusable Rocket Says Elon Musk

https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...morgan-stanley

SpaceX could make Elon Musk world’s first trillionaire, says Morgan Stanley

I'm thinking Dan Dare's Zylbat:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2815613d30.jpg

https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex...-fuel-starship

SPACEX LOADING HUGE AMOUNT OF ROCKET FUEL AT STARSHIP LAUNCH SITE

SpaceX is sending thousands of tons of rocket propellant to its South Texas rocket testing facilities, Teslarati reports, signaling that the company’s long-awaited orbital test launch of its Starship spacecraft may be just around the corner.

Giant tanks spotted by onlookers started piling up last month near the company’s orbital test launch pad. In order to meet the immense propellant needs of the company’s massive Starship and Super Heavy booster, the tanks had to be gigantic.

Now, the company is receiving dozens of liquid oxen propellant (LOX) deliveries, presumably to fill those tanks.

“Up to at least 74 LOX deliveries!” senior spaceflight reporter Eric Ralph noted in a Thursday Tweet. According to Ralph’s back-of-the-envelope calculations, one of the company’s three LOX tanks could be filled in a matter of days……

It’s still not entirely clear what SpaceX’s plan is. But given the quickening pace of deliveries, an orbital test flight may not be too far ahead.….

When the orbital test launch will take place is anybody’s guess, though, and dependent on other contingencies. Last month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that Starship will be ready for its first orbital launch attempt” this month, “pending regulatory approval.”….

Can’t paste the 70 megapixel original….

Wow, so exciting. When I was a kid I wanted to see the shuttle launching but only ever saw it piggy backing over my school. This has the same feeling. Might try to see a launch with my son in the next couple of years...

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/30/elon...ankruptcy.html

Elon Musk tells SpaceX employees that Starship engine crisis is creating a ‘risk of bankruptcy’

Elon Musk is angry with the lack of progress SpaceX has made in developing the Raptor engines that power its Starship rocket.

He described a dire situation the day after Thanksgiving in a company-wide email, a copy of which was obtained by CNBC.

“The Raptor production crisis is much worse than it seemed a few weeks ago,” Musk wrote.
“We face genuine risk of bankruptcy if we cannot achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year,” Musk added later.….

Musk’s email to SpaceX employees provides more context to the significance of former vice president of propulsion Will Heltlsey’s departure earlier this month. Heltsley was taken off Raptor development,

CNBC reported, with Musk noting in his email that the company’s leadership has been digging into the program’s problems since then – and discovering the circumstances “to be far more severe” than Musk previously thought.….

Booster 4 lifted onto the orbital launch mount:

https://www.space.com/spacex-starshi...aa-delay-march

1st orbital test flight of SpaceX's Starship Mars rocket pushed to March at the earliest

We'll have to wait a bit longer for the orbital debut of SpaceX's Starship Mars rocket.

SpaceX had been aiming to launch Starship on its first orbital test flight in January or February, provided that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wrapped up a programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) of the company's South Texas launch site by Dec. 31 as planned.

But that timeline no longer applies. The FAA announced on Tuesday (Dec. 28) that it has pushed the release of the final PEA back to Feb. 28, citing "the high volume of comments submitted on the draft PEA" and "discussions and consultation efforts with consulting parties."…..

https://www.space.com/spacex-starshi...-december-2021

SpaceX fires up Starship SN20 prototype again ahead of landmark test flight

SN20 continues to prep for a landmark orbital test flight.

Hard to keep up with the rate of progress - even without any launches…

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022...arbase-update/

Raptor 2 testing at full throttle on the SpaceX McGregor test stands

Chopsticks in action…

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....535d5f64f.jpeg

That is a breathtaking photograph, ORAC! The tallest rocket ever assembled by humankind. I wish I could witness the first launch in person, but perhaps I'll be able to hear it from 800 miles away....

- Ed

Wow! Just, wow!

Full stack cryogenic test. We are getting ever closer to a launch methinks.

Cape Canaveral… The Age of Giants.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3997193c8.jpeg

Wow :) What an amazing photo. Thanks ORAC

Well, its an amazing montage. The Starship launch facility has only just started pouring concrete for the foundations of that tower.