SpaceX is making remarkable strides in developing the Starship launch vehicle at the Starbase facility in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. Designed to support ambitious missions that could revolutionize the future of humanity, the aerospace company has set its sights on extraordinary goals, including landing NASA Artemis astronauts on the Moon by 2025 and establishing a sustainable city on Mars by 2050.
One of the most unexpected and awe-inspiring features of the Starship is its potential to transport passengers at hypersonic speeds to point-to-point destinations on Earth. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, envisions a future where Starship can carry up to 1,000 passengers at a breathtaking Mach 25, over 17,500 miles per hour, making it faster than a supersonic Jet Concorde or any commercial aircraft.
Musk emphasized that most flights on the Earth-to-Earth version of Starship would take around 20 minutes, turning long-haul journeys into incredibly short trips. For instance, a flight from New York to Paris, which typically takes around 7 hours and 20 minutes on a commercial airplane, would be reduced to a mere ~30 minutes aboard the Starship. He compared the experience to a roller-coaster ride, resembling “Disney’s Space Mountain” but with the added thrill of exiting on another continent.
Upon reaching its destination, Starship would gracefully turn on its tail for a propulsive vertical landing at a complementary sea spaceport in another country, allowing passengers to disembark – as shown in the SpaceX video animation linked below.
To propel Starship into orbit, it will require a powerful Super Heavy rocket booster. Given the noise levels generated during launch, SpaceX plans to conduct frequent trips from spaceports located approximately 30 kilometers (20 miles) offshore to minimize disturbances to populated areas.
While there are still several dozen test flights ahead before commercial passengers are carried, the first uncrewed Earth-to-Earth test flights are expected to take place soon after SpaceX achieves launching a Starship to orbit and back. These tests will enable engineers to further develop the rocket-ship before launching astronauts to space.
The game-changing launch system will be fully reusable, with the Super Heavy rocket capable of being refueled every few hours and the Starship every 8 hours. Engineers aim to create a stainless-steel Starship with a lifespan of around 20 to 30 years, making it as reusable as an airplane. This reusability factor is critical in significantly reducing the cost of spaceflight, making space travel more accessible for more people.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell expressed her expectation in 2019 that the cost of flying aboard Starship to an Earth-to-Earth destination would be slightly more than an economy class flight but cheaper than a first-class airplane ticket. With such ambitious plans and breakthrough technology, the future of space travel is undeniably exciting.
Lets converse! Write your thoughts in the comment section below!
- Would you travel aboard Starship on an Earth-to-Earth trip?
- Do you believe SpaceX Starship will replace airplanes in the future?
VIDEO: Starship Earth-to-Earth Flights
Author’s note: Thanks for reading Cosmic Chronicles. Write your thoughts in the comment section below. If you have story suggestions or feedback, Direct Message me on social media 𝕏: Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo @JaneidyEve. Read the most recent stories featured below. Thank You.
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