SpaceX is preparing for the fifth test flight of its Starship rocket, which could take place in the coming weeks. The company has just moved the gigantic first-stage booster of Starship, known as Super Heavy, to the launch pad at Starbase, its facilities on the south coast of Texas. SpaceX documented the move through social media, posting on Twitter four photos and a 30-second video last Tuesday.
“The Super Heavy booster for flight 5 is being moved to the Starbase platform,” the company wrote in the tweet with the photos. “The rocket passed in front of the nearly complete Starfactory on its way to the platform,” it added in the tweet with the video. Starfactory is the new manufacturing plant that SpaceX is building in Starbase. According to SpaceX representatives, Starfactory could produce one starship per day when it is finished and optimized.
With its 122 meters in height, Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. SpaceX has high expectations for this fully reusable spacecraft, as it considers it a crucial advancement for the economic viability of major space endeavors, such as future settlement on Mars.
