Administrative Efforts
One of the important steps in a project of this size is to secure funding. According to CNBC, Elon Musk’s estimate for the ultimate cost of the Starship program is $5 billion.
Funding for Starship came from various investors, Elon Musk himself, as well as NASA. Funding is being secured as the project continues, and was not gathered all at once.
Another important element of making a project like this come to fruition is to make sure that you are allowed to actually make it happen.
This means it is necessary to act in accordance with the law. This is likely to involve lobbying the government on topics like the: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2020, United States Space Force Act, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2020, Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act and many more.
Currently SpaceX is in limbo because it needs to obtain the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration before ‘being allowed’ to launch the rocket, and the FAA doesn’t have a ‘schedule for completing the final assessment.’
Gathering talent and finding the appropriate space to do the testing is also a requirement. This process includes securing launch pads in a variety of locations, as well as securing a ship(s) to catch the rocket.
Further to this, securing an adequate flow of materials from companies around the world is a challenge in and of itself.
These are barely scratching the surface.
Booster: Super Heavy
This is the bottom piece of the two-stage spacecraft. Let us give you an idea of its actual scale.
It has multiple engines, massive grid diamond-shaped fins, and six landing legs. The rocket is 9 meters in diameter, and 70 meters tall, with a propellant capacity of 3400 tonnes.
The Super Heavy supports 29 Raptor engines. This behemoth produces 72MN of thrust.
Interesting fact: Raptor engines are the first full-flow staged combustion rocket engine ever flown. It seems the company is literally blazing the trail again.
