SpaceX is preparing to launch its fifth Starship at its Rocket Base in Texas within this week. Unlike the previous ones, this special giant spacecraft is the prototype of NASA’s next lunar lander. Since the first moon landing in 1972, the United States has never set foot on the moon. Currently, NASA hopes to allow its astronauts to return to the moon.
The spacecraft, code-named SN15, is the latest version of SpaceX’s prototype interplanetary spacecraft, which will be launched in Boca Chica, Texas. After the SN15 reaches its highest point, it will gradually shut down its Raptor engine, which is the size of three trucks. Subsequently, SN15 will roll and dive back to the area, and use four-wing flaps to control its falling speed and direction.
When approaching the ground, the SN15 engine will re-ignite, return it to an upright position, and then lightly land on the landing pad. However, in previous tests, SpaceX failed to complete the final return.
Moreover, SN8 and SN9 were the first two prototypes that successfully ascended to high altitude, but when they landed, they hit the landing pad at high speed and exploded immediately. Although SN10 landed on the landing pad intact, it exploded after 10 minutes. The SN11 exploded in mid-air as it reignited its engine in preparation for landing.
For SpaceX, explosions during rocket development are commonplace:
John Logsdon, the founder of the George Washington University Space Policy Institute and former member of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advisory Committee, said after the fourth interplanetary explosion: “SpaceX uses a development that is completely different from that of the government. The idea is to test as many flights as possible. If there is a problem, they will try to fix it. If there are other problems, they will try to fix them again.
This is the reason SpaceX has developed so fast. However, this development method also brings up a problem, that is, no one except extreme adventurers would like to use their rockets until they have achieved multiple success records.”
A few days ago, NASA just chose to reach a cooperate with SpaceX. In the future, the company’s interstellar spacecraft will be used to send the next batch of astronauts to the moon. In this context, the successful completion of the landing becomes even more important.
NASA announced on Friday that the agency will cooperate with SpaceX to transform an interstellar spacecraft into a lunar lander, thereby launching its Artemis project, which aims to establish a permanent human base on the moon.
NASA hopes to land its first manned interplanetary spacecraft there in 2024, but a new report from the NASA Office of the Inspector General found that the agency’s chances of completing this mission before the deadline are extremely slim.
For SpaceX, an important step before landing on the moon is to allow the interplanetary spacecraft to successfully complete the launch and landing without exploding like the previous prototype spacecraft.
Last Thursday, Musk said on Twitter that the company plans to launch SN15 this week. The permit documents from the government indicate that the company may conduct the flight test on Tuesday or Wednesday.
|VIA|
