Skip to main content

Elon Musk shares a new look at the SpaceX rocket he wants to send to Mars

SpaceX Starship Prototype
SpaceX

Elon Musk tweeted out two new photos showing how work on SpaceX’s Starship rocket prototype is coming along. The commercial space company expects to fly the ship to the moon and hopes to use it to help establish a colony on Mars 

In a tweet posted on Tuesday and captioned with “Droid Junkyard, Tatooine” — a Star Wars reference, of course — Musk shared an image of the SpaceX facility where work is underway on the Starship.

The stainless steel rocket that peaks through the photo is currently under construction in Boca Chica, Texas — though there’s another version, Starship Mk2, that’s being built at the company’s workspace in Florida.

Droid Junkyard, Tatooine pic.twitter.com/yACFR9y04P

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2019

And, in true Musk fashion, he included a timely Area 51 joke in a second picture showing a section being lowered onto the main rocket.

Area 51 of Area 51 pic.twitter.com/Du7i92sFaO

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2019

SpaceX hopes for Starship to be used as a commercial spacecraft that will be able to take off and land again, like an airplane. The hope is to have Starship ready for commercial flights by 2021. Musk has previously said that SpaceX hopes to land the Starship on the moon by that year, followed by a crewed mission a year or two later.

An application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) submitted by SpaceX on September 9 revealed that SpaceX is preparing to launch its Starship spacecraft into orbit. The test will include an “Experimental launch, landing, and recovery of the Starship suborbital test vehicle.” The vehicle will land about hundred or so feet from its launch site. 

The application dates point to the possibility that the company could launch the Starship prototype as soon as October 13. With Musk’s timely tweets, it looks like that date might not be too far of a stretch. 

These tests are essential to perfecting the Starship rocket. Musk’s ultimate goal for the rocket is to help set up a colony on Mars, bringing people on a trip to the moon, and even bring used for transcontinental travel. 

Digital Trends reached out to SpaceX for any official updates on the launch of the Starship rocket, and we’ll update this story if we hear back from the company.

Editors' Recommendations

Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts are on their way to the space station
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew-4 astronauts launching from the Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX’s Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A at just after 3:50 a.m. ET (12:50 a.m. PT) on Wednesday, April 27.

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, along with Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency, are now on their way to the orbiting outpost with docking expected to take place on Wednesday evening. The crew will spend the next six months living and working aboard the station 250 miles above Earth.

Read more
How to watch SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts launch to ISS
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral.

NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

NASA and SpaceX are making final preparations for the launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. The Crew-4 astronauts were originally supposed to launch on Saturday, April 23, but due to the late departure from the ISS of the Ax-1 mission, the mission won't get underway until Wednesday, April 27, at the earliest.

Read more
Check out this cool NASA image of SpaceX Crew-3’s ride home
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the ISS.

A stunning image shared by NASA shows the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft at the International Space Station (ISS) just a few days before it brings home the Crew-3 astronauts.

Crew Dragon Endurance docked at the International Space Station about 250 miles above Earth. NASA

Read more