SpaceX’s Super Heavy rocket tests 11 of 33 Credit – SpaceX engines
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket officially became the most powerful rocket ever launched when it showed 4 million kg (8.8 million pounds) of thrust in the early hours of November 16. It easily beat the old record holder, the Apollo-era Saturn V, with a thrust of 3.4 million kilograms (7.5 million pounds).
But the SLS won’t hold that title for long. as such Space.com reportsEarlier this week, SpaceX successfully tested 11 of the 33 engines on its Brobdingnagian Super Heavy rocket, a beast of a machine that, when all its engines are fired, will produce more than 7.25 million kilograms (16 million pounds). The thrust is nearly twice that of the SLS. The Super Heavy is 69 meters (230 ft) tall, and serves as the first stage carrying the spacecraft 50 meters (164 ft) high. The entire stack, also known as the Starship, is nearly 40 stories tall — again easily eclipsing the SLS’s 32 stories.
Unlike the SLS, the Starship hasn’t launched yet, but a test engine is ready for its first non-rocket-ready launch, which could happen later this month — though that could happen in the first quarter of 2023. When the ship launches, no She could come soon. NASA has selected the top crew member of the Starship Stack to serve as the lander for the Artemis 3 mission, which aims to return American astronauts to the lunar surface by early 2026.
Meanwhile, NASA’s uncrewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon — which it launched thanks to the SLS — is progressing strictly according to plan. The last step in that plan, the space agency announced, was at 4:53 p.m. ET yesterday, when the spacecraft, now in lunar orbit, fired its engines for 1 minute and 45 seconds, putting it on track for final docking. Fly over the moon before heading home to Splashdown on Dec. 11 as planned.