SpaceX Shares Stunning Starship Snaps Ahead Of Historic Test Flight

wccftech.com:

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

SpaceX has shared some of the best images of its fully stacked Starship rocket as less than a day remains before its historic test flight in Boca Chica, Texas. The FAA cleared Starship for its second test flight yesterday after a process that took seven months to complete. With the latest review, the agency and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) evaluated whether new water deluge and fire suppression systems for the launch pad would require a new environmental approval. Fortunately for SpaceX and its fans, multiple tests conducted at the pad certified it, and ahead of tomorrow's launch, SpaceX has shared images of what might be the second Starship prototype's final sunset.

SpaceX's Starship is the biggest rocket in the world and the first in human history to fire up 33 rocket engines simultaneously for lift-off. It is also the only rocket of its kind, in scale and complexity, developed by the private sector. SpaceX's U.S.-based rivals, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, have smaller rockets designed to be partially reusable and carry less payload.

On the other hand, the Starship second stage is the world's first second-stage rocket that will be fully reusable. This will significantly reduce the marginal cost of launch once Starship is operational, as SpaceX will have to only refurbish the second stage before sending it on new missions.

Additionally, the second stage will also be customizable based on its mission profile. So for NASA missions, like the agency's lunar lander for the Artemis Moon program, the second stage Starship will be a habitable spacecraft.