SpaceX rolls out Starship Super Heavy booster to launch pad at Starbase; see pics

SpaceX has ramped up the development of Starship after CEO Elon Musk announced that the mega-rocket will be "ready to fly" in July. Earlier on Friday, the company rolled out the Super Heavy Booster, the first stage of the rocket, at its launch pad at Starbase in Boca Chica Texas. Taking to Twitter, SpaceX shared a couple of images of the Super Heavy Booster 7 which has been installed with 33 Raptor engines.

Starship's raptor engines

In April this year, Musk shared a picture on Twitter showing off the raptor engines that will lift Starship off its Starbase launch pad during the rocket's first-ever orbital flight this year. In his post, Musk revealed that the engines were capable of producing over half a million pounds (230 tons) of force. It is worth noting that the rocket has two components- the Super Heavy Booster and the Starship vehicle- which would carry the cargo and crew.

While the Super Heavy will be equipped with 33 Raptor engines, the second-stage Starship vehicle will have nine engines to power it once it separates from the booster. However, Musk has said that the production of Raptor engines is extremely complex because they require a lot of "unique materials". In a conversation with MIT scientist Lex Fridman on his podcast, Musk revealed that SpaceX engineers have invented alloys that don't exist yet to make the engine work.

First orbital launch of Starship

In a statement on Twitter earlier this month, Musk had said that the 400-foot-tall Starship will take off for its orbital flight in July. Setting a bold target yet again, he further added that SpaceX would launch a second Starship in August and monthly launches thereafter. Notably, SpaceX recently received a nod from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the development of Starship after its environmental assessment. 

Following the assessment, FAA concluded that a Starship launch would not cause significant harm to the environment around Boca Chica but directed SpaceX to take several actions in order to further reduce the risks.