SpaceX is already preparing floating space ports to support manned missions to Mars – Science

SpaceX is the first two floating space implementers to receive traffic, starting next year. Deimos and Phobos were selected for the two platforms the company led by Elon Musk bought from the oil companies and are now adapting to launch the Starship and land from there.

In a post on Twitter, Musk revealed that work is underway and the company is presenting plans, in terms of timing, to start using the new ports later this year.

The Starship is a reusable rocket that is also still ready to go. The first flight test of the prototype has already been successfully completed, which was mainly used for testing launch and landing methods. The next step is a test flight in orbit, where the prototype rocket (Starship) and propulsion unit (Super Eavy) will fly in conjunction for the first time.

a First successful flight of the prototype It happened in early May, after several unsuccessful attempts. The landing came after the spacecraft flew more than six miles to perform multiple flight maneuvers.

The request submitted to the US authorities for a new test indicates that the intention is now to test the flight at high altitude. It has also been detailed that the propellers will detach from the prototype, approximately three minutes after launch, to land in the Gulf of Mexico. The prototype will continue to cruise, which should take about 90 minutes. In the document, it is estimated that SpaceX is ready to take this test in the first quarter of 2022. Elon Musk thinks it can be expected and welcomed later this year.

The Starship is designed to transport and bring cargo and people from Mars. In SpaceX’s future plans, the spacecraft has also been equated with an ideal transport to drastically reduce travel time, between cities on different continents (on Earth). In this scenario predicted by SpaceX, Starship will fly precisely from a global network of small space ports, distributed in different parts of the world.