Content deleted Content added
→Nomenclature: tweak prose, more accurate term (this was when F9 was on the drawing board but wouldn't fly for five years; "Falcon 9 Heavy" concept existed, but would not be started for eight years; and the actual-designs for a 9-meter BFR would not be even unveiled for 12 years. So really just a name for a far future concept |
gave more info about Super Heavy |
||
Line 146:
In January 2019, SpaceX changed course and said it would also build the second test vehicle—the ''Starship'' orbital prototype—in Texas, after having earlier said that it would be built in the Port of Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://spacenews.com/spacex-to-shift-starship-production-from-california-to-texas/|title=SpaceX to shift Starship work from California to Texas|last=Foust|first=Jeff|date=16 January 2019|work=[[SpaceNews]]|accessdate=21 January 2019|quote=Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of SpaceX, said that development of the vehicle itself, including the Raptor engines that power it, would continue in Hawthorne, while at least the prototype versions of Starship are built in Texas. “We are building the Starship prototypes locally at our launch site in Texas, as their size makes them very difficult to transport,” he said.}}</ref>
Super Heavy prototype assembly is planned to start NET April 2019. The first Super Heavy flights may not feature all 31 Raptor engines of engines in case the booster experiences a failure.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-ceo-elon-musk-official-photos-starship-completed-starship-raptor-engine/|title=SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reveals photos of Starship's first completed Raptor engine|last=Ralph|first=Eric|date=2019-02-01|website=TESLARATI.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref>
=== Testing ===
Line 166 ⟶ 168:
==Nomenclature==
At least as early as 2005, SpaceX had used the descriptor "BFR" for its conceptual large Mars rocket,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/497/1 | title=Big plans for SpaceX | author=Jeff Foust | work=The Space Review| date=14 November 2005}}</ref> even noting that the notional goal of the launch vehicle was {{cvt|100|tonne|lb}} to orbit, but also noting that SpaceX had not figured out how to pay for development.<ref name="nsf20051118">[https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2005/11/spacex-set-maiden-flight-goals/ SPACEX set maiden flight – goals], NASASpaceFlight.com, 18 November 2005, accessed 31 January 2019.</ref>
Beginning in mid-2013, SpaceX referred to both the mission architecture and the vehicle as the Mars Colonial Transporter.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2013/06/06/with-tesla-and-solarcity-soaring-elon-musk-talks-down-spacex-ipo-plans/ | title=SpaceX IPO Cleared For Launch? Elon Musk Says Hold Your Horses | author=Steve Schaefer | work=Forbes | date=6 June 2013}}</ref> By the time the large 12-meter diameter design was unveiled in September 2016, SpaceX had already begun referring to the overall system as the [[Interplanetary Transport System]] and the launch vehicle itself as the [[ITS launch vehicle]].
| |||