(opens in new tab)<\/span> with Booster 7 before launching an orbital test flight \u2014 the first ever for the Starship program.<\/p>\nThat orbital mission will likely employ Booster 7 and Ship 24, a prototype of Starship’s 165-foot-tall (50 meters) upper stage. The upper stage is powered by six Raptors; Ship 24 has already ignited all of its engines, during a Sept. 8 static fires.<\/p>\n
A successful orbital flight will make Starship the most powerful rocket ever to fly. That title is currently held by NASA’s Space Launch System megarocket, which debuted on Nov. 16, kicking off the agency’s Artemis 1 mission.<\/p>\n
SpaceX is developing Starship to take people and cargo to the moon and Mars. NASA is already a customer; the agency selected the huge vehicle to make at least two crewed moon landings for its Artemis program, which aims to establish a long-term human presence on and around the moon by the end of the 2020s.<\/p>\n
Editor’s note:<\/strong><\/em> This story was updated at 4:35 pm EST to state that SpaceX confirmed that 11 Raptors were involved in the static fire.<\/em><\/p>\nMike Wall is the author of “<\/em>Out There<\/em><\/u> (opens in new tab)<\/span>” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter <\/em>@michaeldwall<\/em><\/u><\/a> (opens in new tab)<\/span>. Follow us on Twitter <\/em>@Spacedotcom<\/em><\/u><\/a> (opens in new tab)<\/span> or ten<\/em> Facebook<\/em><\/u> (opens in new tab)<\/span>. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n