Many have loved science fiction growing up and since they were young, have dreamt about exploring far off places and experiencing new worlds. We may be far away from exploring planets like Mars with the government’s focus elsewhere, but some private companies are looking to find resourceful ways into humanity’s future.
According to CNET, SpaceX Founder and businessman Elon Musk unveiled the prototype of his Mars rocket ship to a crowd of hundreds in Boca Chica Beach, Texas on Sept. 29. The completion of the prototype rocket dubbed “The Star Walker,” takes place eleven years after the success of SpaceX’s first test with Falcon 1.
This new rocket is expected to help accelerate Musk’s upcoming Mars space program with ships that can carry colonists to the Red Planet. Musk expressed his enthusiasm on the completion of the prototype and the upcoming testing to create a functional rocket by the next decade at a press conference following the unveiling of the rocket.
“This is going to sound totally nuts, but we want to try and reach orbit in less than six months,” Musk said.
The prototype rocket’s design is reminiscent of the rockets you would see in a 1950s sci-fi pulp magazine, featuring two stages for launching into space. The ship can also be reused instead of abandoned. Additionally, the booster for the ship is twice as powerful as those in the Saturn V rockets used by NASA.
Most rockets waste some equipment in order to launch to space apart from reusable shuttles, so it is exciting to see the possibility of spaceships that can be reused over and over again. Musk also noted that The Star Walker’s plans would allow for refueling in orbit without docking in the International Space Station, which can be a stepping stone for future developments before going to Mars.
“This is one of the other critical pieces of the puzzle to establish a base on the moon or Mars,” Musk said at the press conference.
According to Ars Technica, one of the main features of the reusable rocket prototype is that stainless steel would be used for the skin of the rocket. Musk said that his reasoning behind the choice was that stainless steel won’t go brittle in cold temperatures and won’t melt off in the high temperatures during launches and reentries into the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Stainless steel is by far the best design decision we have made,” Musk said. “Steel is easy to weld and weather-resistant.”
Another benefit of using stainless steel is its cost of only $2,500 per ton, a low price compared to the $130,000 per ton cost of carbon fiber material, which has historically been used for ships. For Musk’s company, this will allow them to build the next phases of the ship without breaking the bank and it could allow the government to prioritize working with stainless steel for future projects. Although, it seems that the cost of space travel isn’t going to be too much trouble for Musk and his employees.
According to KESQ in Palm Springs, California, Musk noted that with the prototype welded in just one month and the hardware provided, the cost would be lower than his estimate of between $2 to $10 billion back in 2017.
“[The cost would be] probably closer to a two or three [billion] than it is to 10,” Musk said.
Within six months, SpaceX is planning to launch an unmanned and manned rocket and booster to test if the prototype would be able to reach Earth’s orbit and use the data for future rocket schematics. The overall goal isn’t just to make both the rocket and the booster renewable with the materials they have, but also to make it affordable for future missions such as the Mars colony.
“In almost any motor transport — whether it’s a plane or car, a horse, or bicycle — it’s reusable” Musk said, “So the critical breakthrough that’s necessary is a rapidly reusable orbital rocket.”
It is exciting to see not only see more about the new rockets Musk develops but how he manages to create the rockets. It’s surprising to see how human ingenuity can find creative avenues to not only solve problems in building but also how to keep costs affordable for both employees and for those interested in space travel.
We all thought it would take a miracle to reach the Moon back in the 1960s, but we did it and we continue to make new discoveries today in improving our technology. With any luck and help from Musk, maybe Mars will soon be within our reach.
Graphic: Mars Hogue/ The Johnsonian
