SpaceX is preparing to launch its massive Starship rocket more frequently.
The company is currently launching Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, from its orbital launch pad at Starbase, its site near the South Texas border town of Brownsville. But SpaceX is working to install a second launch pad at the facility, and recently achieved a major milestone toward that goal.
The company announced via X on Wednesday (August 21) the “second stacked launch tower as the latest addition to Starbase.” mail Which included three pictures of the developed site.
But more work is needed before spacecraft can begin launching from the new pad. For example, the launch cradle for the pad has not yet been installed, as recently released images show. And the tower still lacks the “chopstick” arms that will be used to position spacecraft on the cradle and catch the first-stage boosters returning after liftoff.
Related to: SpaceX Tests Starship Heavy Booster Rocket Ahead of 5th Flight (Video)
SpaceX is developing Starship — a giant, fully reusable, 400-foot (122-meter) tall spacecraft — to help humanity colonize the Moon and Mars, as well as achieve a number of other audacious exploration goals.
The company has launched four Starship test flights so far — two in 2023 and two so far this year. The most recent mission, which launched on June 6, was successful, with the spacecraft’s upper stage reaching space and both it and the booster rocket (known as Super Heavy) landing intact in the ocean as planned.
SpaceX is now preparing for the fifth test flight of Starship, which could happen as soon as the Federal Aviation Administration approves it. The company has already conducted test launches of both stages of Starship and says the vehicle is ready for launch.
This flight will launch from Starbase, like its four previous Starship flights. But SpaceX also plans to launch Starship from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and is working to do so in the relatively near future.
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