Elon Musk shares footage of SpaceX Starship rocket before crewed trip to MARS

SPACEX has shared footage of its Starship spacecraft – including prototype testing, launches and landings.

Billionaire boss Elon Musk hopes that Starship will put humans on Mars within the decade.

SpaceXStarship is set to carry astronauts across space[/caption]

SpaceXElon Musk hopes Starship will be used for manned missions to the Moon and Mars[/caption]

To celebrate the bold craft, SpaceX has shared a 90-second clip showcasing some of Starship’s best moments.

SpaceX successfully launched and landed Starship earlier this year.

That was just a full-scale prototype, but SpaceX has since performed fire tests of the rocket using its first orbit-ready prototype.

Musk has previously admitted he hopes SpaceX will put astronauts on the Moon within three years.

The tech mogul is also plotting cargo-only and manned missions to Mars this decade, also using Starship.

He hopes to create “Base Alpha” on Mars “well before 2030”.

Starship’s first flight to Earth orbit will take place this year, according to SpaceX.

Expectations for the first flight of SN11 are high after its predecessor, SN10, met a fiery end earlier this month.

The prototype shot six miles into the air during a test flight on March 4 before touching down safely at the Starship facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

It stood upright on the ground for about 10 minutes before suddenly bursting into flames due to a possible methane leak.

Two other rockets, SN8 and SN9, met similar violent ends following flights in December and January.

Starship is in the early stages of development, and trial launches have thus far taken the form of high-altitude flights of a few miles.

SpaceX plans to reach orbit with the rocket in an unmanned flight by 2022.

Billionaire Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, hopes to send a million people to Mars in his lifetime using a 1,000-strong fleet of the powerful rockets.

The finished product will stand 165ft (50 metres) tall and boast six of SpaceX’s powerful Raptor engines.

According to SpaceX, the contraption will hit speeds of 15,000mph (25,000kph), making it the world’s most powerful spacecraft.

In a series of tweets last year, Musk outlined how his Starlink plans would open up space travel to anyone, regardless of their income.

“Needs to be such that anyone can go if they want, with loans available for those who don’t have money,” he wrote.

Musk’s plan involves building an expansive fleet of Starship vehicles, which comprise a huge rocket topped by a bullet-shaped spacecraft.

SpaceX says reusable rockets that can land and take off again make space travel more cost effective, accessible and sustainable.

However, the team has a long way to go before they can conduct Starship’s first manned flight.

SpaceXSeveral SpaceX rocket tests have ended in explosions – but Starship is improving quickly[/caption]

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