SpaceX Starship development: Difference between revisions

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{{cite news |last=Ralph|first=Eric |url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-new-starship-photos-heavy-metal-bfr/ |title=SpaceX CEO Elon Musk teases new Starship photos and “heavy metal” BFR |work=Teslarati |date=9 December 2018 |accessdate=9 December 2018 |quote=''wide-reaching changes to BFR’s general structural composite, Musk at long last confirmed what some suspected – now known as Starship/Super Heavy, the BFR program has officially moved away from carbon fiber composites as the primary material of choice for the rocket’s structure and propellant tanks, instead pivoting to what Musk described as a “fairly heavy metal”.'' }}</ref>

Following a personal trip to the [[SpaceX South Texas Launch Site|South Texas Launch Site]] in [[Boca Chica, Texas]], Elon Musk revealed on 23 December 2018 that the first [[test article (aerospace)|test article]] ''Starship'' had been under construction there for several weeks, out in the open on SpaceX property. The "hopper" was being built from a [[300-series stainless steel|special alloy]] of [[stainless steel]]—not [[carbon composite]] as previously thought—andthought. According to [[Elon Musk]], the reason for using this material is that "it’s [stainless steel] obviously cheap, it’s obviously fast—but it’s not obviously the lightest. But it is actually the lightest. If you look at the properties of a high-quality stainless steel, the thing that isn’t obvious is that at cryogenic temperatures, the strength is boosted by 50 percent."<ref>{{cite web |last1=D'Agostino |first1=Ryan |title=Elon Musk: Why I'm Building the Starship out of Stainless Steel |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a25953663/elon-musk-spacex-bfr-stainless-steel/ |website=popularmechanics.com |publisher=[[Popular Mechanics]] |accessdate=January 22, 2019 |language=English |date=January 22, 2019}}</ref> ''Starship'' would be used on the initial [[Flight test|test flights]] to characterize the vehicle and develop the landing and low-altitude/low-velocity reentry control algorithms. The initial vehicle will fly with three of the seven possible Raptor [[methalox]] engines installed, and the initial flight is expected no earlier than the first half of 2019.<ref name=trati20181224>

{{cite news |last=Ralph|first=Eric |url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-starship-prototype-three-raptors-mirror-finish/ |title=SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: Starship prototype to have 3 Raptors and “mirror finish” |work=[[Teslarati]] |date=24 December 2018 |accessdate=24 December 2018 }}</ref><ref name=sn20181224/>