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Elon Musk’s rocket company first began developing working prototypes of the Starship rocket in early 2019 in Boca Chica, Texas. An early version, nicknamed “Starhopper,” focused heavily on the ability to land a rocket after launching its vehicle into orbit—an enormous, but critically necessary, engineering challenge. Watch the evolution from an oversized tin can to the elegant Starship (along with some explosive failures).
Dozens of ships launch from Earth and dock at the International Space Station every year, rotating astronaut crews and delivering supplies. While it’s become standard practice, guiding a ship into an orbiting station takes exception skill. This simulator lets you try your hand at docking a SpaceX Dragon 2 at an ISS arrival port, using the same interface and controls as NASA astronauts.
Smithsonian Institution
Everyone's talking about colonies on Mars or the moon—but what about colonizing space? Learn about a pioneer in the idea with this short article. In the 1970s, Princeton physicist Gerard K. O'Neill popularized the idea of building 15-mile-long cylinder-shaped colonies manufactured from lunar and asteroid materials, which would spin to create gravity. His legacy continues through work at Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin where O'Neill has served as an inspiration.
The Space Race
NASA and SpaceX have become close partners in upcoming missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This video explores the latest scientific proposals for how humans could terraform or colonize the red planet, evaluating feasibility, current technologies, and timeline. Learn why we'll probably need an army of labor robots who have dug massive underground habitats before the first human pioneers have their first long-term stay on Mars in this video.
The vast majority of space exploration has resulted from the deployment of single-use rockets, massive engines which fall to the ocean after delivering their payload. SpaceX has revolutionized the industry with its Falcon 9 reusable rocket, cutting launch costs in half or more. Learn about the rocket's design, its engines, and how it slows to 10 miles per hour just before landing on its ocean barges.
Everyday Astronaut
The setting for some of SpaceX's most daring tests is Starbase near the town of Brownsville in southern Texas. The location has become a veritable tourist spot for space aficionados lining up to see retired test vehicles and the mammoth Starship itself, the world's tallest and most powerful rocket system. Click here for the low down on the space explorer's mecca.
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