Elon Musk Previews First Image Of SpaceX's 'Starship'

Elon Musk Previews First Image Of SpaceX's 'Starship'
Robyn Beck-Pool/Getty Images

The Starship Hopper is ready to begin its mission. Or at least, it's ready for some test launches.

Thursday night, Elon Musk announced the test-flight version of his Starship had finished assembly. Previous images showed renderings of the planned spacecraft, but now we have it in reality.


It's a shiny craft that looks a little like a stainless steel travel trailer. However, it is far larger.

Notice the little astronaut for scale.




This Starship is designed for 'hopping' tests. Very similar to the test ship Falcon 9 Hopper in 2013, the craft takes off a predetermined distance into the sky and lands again. This helps test the launch and landing mechanisms, which is what allows SpaceX to reuse their rockets.

People are ready to go to space.





However, people also discovered the photo presented was carefully curated. A different Twitter user drove past the shuttle and took pictures and video.

The internet was quick to point out the perceived deception.





Others joked about the overall design of the rocket.





The current iteration of the Starship is just a test. Much like the Falcon 9 Hopper, this vehicle is designed to test various components. An official prototype of the final Starship is planned to be completed by June, according to Musk.

In the meantime, he needs to make plans for the Hopper's tests.



SpaceX has already sold out tickets for a planned orbit around the moon. The mission is scheduled for a 2023 launch. If all goes to plan, they will be the first humans since Apollo 17 to visit the moon's orbit.

US Supreme court
Photo by Adam Szuscik on Unsplash

When Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in the fall of 2020, the United States panicked.

Namely, democrats and liberals were terrified by the prospect of another conservative judge on the United States Supreme Court, which already had a two-seat majority.

Then of course, there was the ongoing debate as to whether or not then-sitting president Donald Trump was entitled to pick another Supreme Court judge, as the 2020 presidential election was only weeks away.

Barack Obama was famously banned from appointing Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court owing to the fact that it was an election year, even though President Obama still had eight months left in his presidency.

Of course, RBG's death at age 87 also brought to the forefront an ongoing debate about whether there should be age limits for Supreme Court Justices.

Keep reading...Show less

As humans with autonomy and knowledge, we try to protect ourselves as much as we can. However, accidents do happen, and while we can expect the unexpected, we can't always protect ourselves from it.

Because there isn't always a defense, people sometimes have a close brush with death. They experience something that could've killed them but, by some miracle... didn't.

More people have stories like that than we expect.

Redditors are no exception and, in fact, were eager to share their close calls.

Keep reading...Show less
woman stretching
Photo by Emily Sea on Unsplash

The human body is truly amazing. It's resilient, it can create antibodies to fight off infections, and it comes in all shapes and sizes.

There are some awesome facts about the human body, like that no two people have the same fingerprints.

However, there are also some creepy facts about the human body.

Redditors are well aware of this and are ready to share the creepiest facts they know about the human body.

Keep reading...Show less

Until we're in a situation, we'll never really know how we'll react.

I have been in this scenario, though.

Sex matters. And people rarely want to admit how much.

But sex isn't a lifetime guarantee.

It fades, as does love.

It's important to speak about it.

It can be a fixable situation.

A relationship without sex may not be the end of the world, but it's definitely a sign that something is off.

Keep reading...Show less