Exploring space on your next family vacation is still a few years in the future. But Elon Musk now says that Starhopper, the prototype for SpaceX’s future passenger spacecraft, could be tested as soon as July 16 at the company’s facility near Brownsville, Texas. That would coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo launch.
In a tweet on July 12, Musk said that the Raptor engines, the high-tech powerful rocket motor created by SpaceX for Starship, were now mounted onto Starhopper.
Once complete, Starship aims to offer passenger flights for up to 100 people to low-Earth orbit, the moon, and even Mars. It would also be reusable, a hallmark of Musk’s approach to making spaceflight cheaper.
Originally named Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), Starship consists of two separate parts. Starship itself will be the actual craft that carries passengers and cargo, and it will be lifted into orbit by SpaceX’s ...
