SpaceX may test Mars rocket this week

SpaceX is only days away from the first “hops” of its massive Starship rocket prototype, CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter. Residents near the SpaceX facility in Brownsville, Texas received warning notices from local officials on Friday.

Few things excite me more than the prospect of humankind one day colonizing Mars! Here's a brief opinion piece I wrote calling for more collaboration between SpaceX, the medical community, governments, and academia to ensure that we can do this safely. https://lnkd.in/eSM9Ztq Here is also a great overview recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine for those of you more interested: https://lnkd.in/eAW5F-A

The next destination is Mars! Entrepreneurship can take humanity even to Mars. Left to right: An illustration of SpaceX's "test hopper," Starship spaceship, its booster, a Falcon 9 rocket and integrated Starship launch system. #elonmusk #spacex #entrepreneurship #action #risk #mars #starship

The next destination is Mars! Entrepreneurship can take humanity even to Mars. Left to right: An illustration of SpaceX's "test hopper," Starship spaceship, its booster, a Falcon 9 rocket and integrated Starship launch system. #elonmusk #spacex #entrepreneurship #action #risk #mars #starship

Talk about speed. New electric car model Model Y and launching a prototype launch vehicle to Mars. Impressive.

We made the first official NASA visit to the SpaceX Starship manufacturing and launch facilities at Boca Chica, Texas last week. The Starship Hopper was being tested with LN2 during our visit and we saw additional Starships being manufactured. Hopper flight tests will start in a few months. SpaceX is moving quickly with this new capability.

Can’t wait to see the first hop!

This is the hopper prototype of "Starship" intended to carry 100 people to Mars. Assembled ahead of schedule following decision to ditch carbon composites for stainless steel. The suborbital "Hopper" is unlikely to reach altitudes in excess of 16000ft or so -- and is primarily a test platform. The same development method was used for Falcon 9 currently awaiting final approval to replace the Space Shuttle. Still waiting on the booster which can launch a revised Starship into orbit and the tanker which can send it beyond. https://lnkd.in/dea6TG4 #spacex #space #bfrftw