SpaceX fans, buckle up and get excited because the aerospace company launched the AX-2 mission last Tuesday. Elon Musk recently gave an update on Starship and Falcon Heavy, providing some thrilling technical details. The company has been testing its spacecraft and rockets for years with the goal of getting humans to Mars and, eventually, colonizing a new planet. Here’s a summary of the latest SpaceX news.
The AX-2 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts on a journey to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft, called Resilience, is a Crew Dragon capsule that has already been to space on a previous SpaceX mission. However, the Falcon 9 rocket that carried Resilience was new and marked the company’s 25th mission for NASA.
While the AX-2 mission is certainly exciting, Elon Musk recently shared some tantalizing details about the Starship and Falcon Heavy rockets. For one, the Starship prototype has undergone some significant testing, such as test flights that saw the craft reach a height of around 32,000 feet. Musk also noted that SpaceX plans to return the Starship from orbit without relying on parachutes. Instead, the craft will slow down using a technique called aerodynamic tiling.
Regarding the Falcon Heavy, which propelled the first SpaceX Falcon Heavy demo mission in 2018, Musk revealed that the rocket’s capacity could increase by 325% if the company followed through with plans to switch from a helium pressurization system to a more robust autogenous pressurization.
SpaceX’s work on these complex technologies is important because it could have huge ramifications for the future of space exploration. Mars remains a tantalizing destination for humans, and SpaceX’s continued work on its spacecraft and rockets could make that dream a reality. Similarly, the commercialization of space travel, which could allow people like you and me to visit space, is also dependent on the success of companies like SpaceX.
All in all, the AX-2 mission is exciting, but perhaps even more exciting is the progress being made on spacecraft and rocket technology that could change the course of space exploration history. Stay tuned for more updates from SpaceX.
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