Elon Musk has finally revealed more details of the mysterious silver Starship prototype being built by SpaceX in Florida.
Known as the 'hopper', it will take its first flight within weeks, Musk tweeted.
The craft, which many have compared to the rocket Tintin used in the in the 1954 adventure 'Explorers on the Moon', is a prototype of the Starship Musk hopes will take man to the moon and, eventually, Mars.
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Look familiar? Musk also tweeted a picture of what the sleek silver spacecraft will look like, explaining it was an early prototype and the final version will include more detail. The craft, which many have compared to the rocket Tintin used in the in the 1954 adventure 'Explorers on the Moon', is a prototype of the Starship Musk hopes will take man to the moon and, eventually, Mars.
'Aiming for 4 weeks, which probably means 8 weeks, due to unforeseen issues,' he wrote when asked about the launch.
He also tweeted a picture of what the sleek silver spacecraft will look like, explaining it was an early prototype and the final version will include more detail.
'Starship test vehicle under assembly will look similar to this illustration when finished.
'Operational Starships would obv have windows, etc.,' Musk tweeted.
The prototype under construction: The first crewed Red Planet mission for the rocket and 100-passenger Starship could come as early as the mid-2020s if development and testing go well, Musk has said
SpaceX is developing the Starship and a giant rocket called the Super Heavy to take people to and from the moon, Mars and other destinations throughout the solar system.
This work is taking place at both SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and the company's test site in South Texas, near the border city of Brownsville, where the first flights will take place.
The latest images provide a clearer view of the two components previewed by Musk at the end of last month, showing engineers in cherry-pickers at work on the nose cone and another large piece of the system.
A large American flag can be seen plastered on the side of one of the huge metal cylinders.
The progress comes as SpaceX ramps up work on the test hopper ahead of planned flights later this year
Starship – previously known as BFR, Big Falcon Rocket, or the Big F***ing Rocket – is key to Musk's plans to send humans to Mars.
Photographers have been flocking to the area to take pictures of the ship and it is being built
Musk tweeted out the first photo at the end of December, captioning it simply, 'Stainless Steel Starship.'
In a series of tweets that followed, however, the CEO elaborated on the plans for the test vehicle.
The first crewed Red Planet mission for the rocket and 100-passenger Starship could come as early as the mid-2020s if development
