STARSHIP's Next Boy Group Project Which of the NewKids will be eliminated before the final stage? <Debut’s Plan : SEMI FINAL> 🌱 https://t.co/OarDCDRpYF #STARSHIP# #NewKids# #Debuts_Plan# https://t.co/gFs6XTqhu6

SpaceX's Starship has the potential to accelerate astrophysics research by decades. In this week's paper, the authors highlight Starship's substantial payload capacity (+100t) and cost-effective launch model, could allow NASA to deploy next-generation space telescopes much sooner than the 2040s-2050s timelines currently envisioned. The 2020 decadal survey (Astro2020) lays out ambitious plans for new "Great Observatories" like LUVOIR, the Origins Space Telescope, and the Lynx X-Ray Observatory-missions designed to surpass the capabilities of Hubble and Chandra. However, constrained budgets mean these missions risk launching decades from now, creating a serious gap in our observatory capacity during the 2030s. Here’s where Starship could be a game-changer: 1) Its massive payload bay could fit larger, heavier telescopes without the need for intricate (and risky) folding designs - converting risk to mass 2) Simplifying deployment could dramatically cut engineering cycles and costs 3) More affordable, scalable materials (like glass mirrors instead of beryllium) could become viable for next-gen space observatories. The authors call on NASA and the astrophysics community to actively plan around Starship’s capabilities. Doing so could fast-track the next wave of discoveries, ensuring that the 2030s don't become a lost decade for space science.

Elon Musk: Starship is gigantic compared to anything that's ever been done before. “Starship is gigantic compared to anything that's ever been done before. This is not like a tiny little thing lands on the moon. This is a giant-ass spaceship lands on the moon. It's capable of putting 100 tons of payload on the moon, so a lot. We can go way beyond what was done with the Apollo program, where they just had a small lander, and they were on the surface of the moon for some number of hours, and then they got back in and took off. The Apollo program was not capable of building a moon base. But the Starship system is capable of building a moon base. It's designed to be capable of building a city on the moon or Mars. That's what the system is designed to be able to do.” Full Send Podcast, August 5, 2022

When you see photos of Starship in flight, it's easy to forget just how massive it is. Here's the statue of liberty roughly to scale. I'll be down in Starbase, TX to cover next week's flight test. https://t.co/h2UlaJZ9eI