SpaceX tests Starhopper’s maneuvering thrusters ahead of inaugural flight test

Late at night on July 22nd, SpaceX’s South Texas team of technicians and engineers were busy testing a small but critical component of Starhopper, a testbed and low-fidelity Starship prototype meant to attempt its first untethered flight test as early as July 24th. Monday evening’s testing centered around Starhopper’s cold gas nitrogen thrusters, multi-nozzle assemblies […]

The post SpaceX tests Starhopper’s maneuvering thrusters ahead of inaugural flight test appeared first on TESLARATI.

SpaceX T-24 hours to NASA’s first Falcon 9 Block 5 reuse, Cargo Dragon milestone

SpaceX is set to become the only company in history to launch the same commercial space capsule to orbit three times, a milestone of orbital spacecraft reuse in an otherwise ‘routine’ Cargo Dragon mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Known as CRS-18, the mission will (hopefully) see Cargo Dragon capsule C108 and a fresh […]

The post SpaceX T-24 hours to NASA’s first Falcon 9 Block 5 reuse, Cargo Dragon milestone appeared first on TESLARATI.

Terraforming Mars may still be possible after NASA concludes otherwise, scientists say

SpaceX’s Elon Musk may imagine a nuclear device acting as an artificial sun on Mars for his long-term terraforming plans, but NASA has ultimately disagreed with his and others’ proposals thus far for the planet. With this in mind, Harvard University scientists have conducted a study using silica aerogel to create regionally terraformed parts of […]

The post Terraforming Mars may still be possible after NASA concludes otherwise, scientists say appeared first on TESLARATI.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says Crew Dragon spaceship 6 months from astronaut launch debut

Speaking in a mid-July interview with a CNBC correspondent, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated that he believed the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft was likely 6-8 months away from an inaugural launch with astronauts aboard. Elaborating a bit, he noted that SpaceX was aiming to realize that milestone in four months, while he expected – per […]

The post SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says Crew Dragon spaceship 6 months from astronaut launch debut appeared first on TESLARATI.

SpaceX to build massive, new Hyperloop tunnel for 2020 competition, says Elon Musk

SpaceX has just completed its fourth hosted Hyperloop competition since its 2017 debut and Hyperloop inventor and CEO Elon Musk has capped the successful event with a big claim: in 2020, SpaceX will host Competition 5 at a brand-new track (“tunnel”) offering new freedom and challenges to the student teams. According to Musk, that new […]

The post SpaceX to build massive, new Hyperloop tunnel for 2020 competition, says Elon Musk appeared first on TESLARATI.

SpaceX’s Elon Musk says Starship, Super Heavy will have more than 40 Raptor engines

According to tweets published by CEO Elon Musk on July 21st, SpaceX’s combined Starship and Super Heavy launch vehicle (BFR) could have as many as 41 Raptor engines at liftoff. As with all other aspects of SpaceX’s next-generation rocket, this is a sign that things remain in flux as the company nears the point at […]

The post SpaceX’s Elon Musk says Starship, Super Heavy will have more than 40 Raptor engines appeared first on TESLARATI.

Elon Musk is a one stop, pop culture to STEM recruiting shop, and that’s a good thing

WARNING This column will be unabashedly full of pop culture references in honor of its topic. Check out the end of the piece for a Where’s Waldo-style treasure hunt to identify where they are. And by that I mean like the list at the back of the book. Or the companion list on the main […]

The post Elon Musk is a one stop, pop culture to STEM recruiting shop, and that’s a good thing appeared first on TESLARATI.

SpaceX Falcon 9 nears NASA’s first flight-proven Block 5 launch after static fire delays

After multiple days of delays, many a finger is crossed that SpaceX will be able to perform a critical static fire test of Falcon 9 booster B1056.1 on Friday morning (July 19th). Falcon 9 B1056 and a fresh upper stage are scheduled to launch Cargo Dragon mission CRS-18 no earlier than 7:35 pm EDT (23:35 […]

The post SpaceX Falcon 9 nears NASA’s first flight-proven Block 5 launch after static fire delays appeared first on TESLARATI.

SpaceX’s Elon Musk says landing Starship on the Moon could be easier than convincing NASA

Speaking in an interview with TIME Magazine’s Jeffrey Kluger, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk telegraphed some clear, latent frustration with US space agency NASA, indicating that quite literally building Starship and landing it on the Moon could be easier than convincing NASA that the company is serious. Although minor progress has been made in the last […]

The post SpaceX’s Elon Musk says landing Starship on the Moon could be easier than convincing NASA appeared first on TESLARATI.

Starhopper update: SpaceX’s ungainly Starship testbed survives night of fireballs, Raptor testing

SpaceX’s Starhopper appears to have come out the other end of an eventful night of fires, fireballs, and Raptor testing completely unscathed, although – as with all things rocketry – there is vastly more than meets the eye. However, signs point towards Starhopper being almost entirely unharmed by its brief voyage inside a fireball – […]

The post Starhopper update: SpaceX’s ungainly Starship testbed survives night of fireballs, Raptor testing appeared first on TESLARATI.