Elon Musk tweeted Thursday night an image of the completed Starship test-flight rocket from a SpaceX facility in south Texas. The company plans for the rocket to be its first vehicle to carry astronauts.
Ultimately, the Starship rocket will be the vehicle that transports humans as part of Musk’s plan to colonize mars. Starship will carry up to 100 passengers and be launched by SpaceX’s upcoming “Super Heavy” rocket.
Musk said there will be differences in a test version of the rocket and the orbital version.
This is for suborbital VTOL tests. Orbital version is taller, has thicker skins (won’t wrinkle) & a smoothly curving nose section.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 11, 2019
The engines are expected to be test-fired next month, and Musk has said he expects the first Starship test flights in March or April. A trip to Mars is planned for as soon as 2020.