SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a Saturday tweet that the rocketry giant hopes to build “about five full stacks” of Starships this year. Each “stack” comprises an actual Starship, which will carry cargo and (eventually) humans into space, attached atop a “Super Heavy” booster rocket.
The news comes after Musk said earlier this week that SpaceX’s first Starship orbital launch attempt will be “soon.” He previously said that a Starship launch “appears highly likely” for March.
About five full stacks
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 14, 2023
SpaceX’s inaugural orbital launch of Starship has been delayed time and again, with FAA approval for the test flight not coming through until June of last year. Now, however, it looks like SpaceX is finally nearing its launch window for Starship.
When SpaceX does finally launch Starship for the first time, the space transportation pioneer plans to “catch” the Super Heavy booster that will be expended.
Starship will also have an application for astronomy, Musk added on Saturday. Thanks to its “voluminous cargo bay,” Starship will enable incredible space telescopes.
According to a recent report, SpaceX has kicked off a $750 million USD investment round at a valuation of a whopping $137 billion.
