#1: On August 6, SpaceX’s Starship became the tallest rocket in the world — for about an hour.
#2: For that short time, SpaceX’s SN20 second-stage rocket was stacked on top of the Super Heavy booster — just like it will be for the rocket’s first orbital test flight, scheduled for later this year.
It’s almost twice the size of NASA’s gargantuan SLS core stage rocket, which was assembled earlier this year.
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Before takeoff, SpaceX’s launch procedures also have to pass an environmental review by the FAA.
#7: The orbital test flight will see the booster splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico and Starship attempt a landing on a drone ship near Hawaii after a trip around the Earth.
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That’s all leading up to SpaceX’s real goal: Using Starship to cart astronauts and cargo to the Moon and Mars within the next decade.
SpaceX has secured a contract to use Starship as the lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis program, which could return humans to the Moon as early as 2024.