It’s a “dream come true” for SpaceX creator Elon Musk, who wants to colonize Mars.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s vision of the future is becoming a reality with three words: “Starship fully stacked.” Musk has posted images of a prototype Starship spaceship and Super Heavy rocket on a launchpad.
Musk had previously tweeted images of the Super Heavy rocket, a 29-engine monster that will accompany Starship on its maiden test flight into orbit, on the pad at SpaceX’s research site in Boca Chica, Texas.
Musk’s photo collection depicts the Starship spaceship being hoisted to the top of the Super Heavy rocket and positioned. The duo stands over 400 feet (122 meters) tall.
Starship Fully Stacked pic.twitter.com/Fs88RNsmfH
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2021
Musk responded on Twitter, “Dream come reality,” when asked how it feels to see the space combination completely stacked. The SpaceX founder predicted that completing a to-do list, which included installing extra heat shield tiles aboard Starship, would take two weeks.
SpaceX has been performing a series of brief test flights using Starship prototypes in Texas, some of which have survived and others of which have detonated. The orbital Starship will be the most ambitious test to yet, as well as the first to use the enormous Super Heavy rocket required to launch it into space.
The test flight’s launch date has yet to be determined, and it will be contingent on a number of circumstances, including the completion of work on Starship and Super Heavy and permission from the Federal Aviation Administration. Sending Starship into orbit will be a significant step toward Musk’s much loftier goals of transporting humans to the moon and Mars.
