SpaceX prepares to launch its mammoth rocket 'Starship'
Starship is the largest rocket ever built. The company hopes it will one day take people to the moon and Mars. But first it has to fly.
In South Texas, the commercial spaceflight company SpaceX is preparing to test a huge, stainless-steel rocket. The machine could one day carry humans to the moon, Mars and beyond.
But first, it has to fly.
"It's a very complex machine; it has so many different components," says Paulo Lozano, director of MIT's space propulsion laboratory. The rocket is larger than any ever built. Success will depend upon dozens of engines, firing in perfect synchrony.
The stakes could not be higher, at least to hear SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speak about the mission.
"Eventually the Sun will expand and destroy all. "It is very important – essential in the long-term – that we become a multi-planet species."
