SpaceX's multi billion dollar Starship Human Landing System (HLS) rocket for NASA's Artemis program to land the first humans on the Moon since the Apollo program will have at least two floors and be capable of carrying a crew of 20 astronauts suggest fresh details on X. While SpaceX has been busy testing the full Starship test in Boca Chica, Texas, the firm has shared little details about the $2.9 billion contract that NASA awarded it in 2021 to build the HLS.
Now, according to an educator who recently visited SpaceX's Texas facilities, Starship HLS' early design mock ups include two floors and space sufficient to support 20 astronauts in a space with a 40 feet high ceiling.
SpaceX's Starship HLS Prototype Features Two Decks With Lower Deck Having A Curved Floor
The Starship prototype X user and educator Tom Blackmore viewed during his visit to SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas facilities, is a subscale variant of the final HLS ship. Since HLS is in the early stages of design and SpaceX has yet to manufacture the ship, the firm is working with NASA and astronauts to fine-tune its design.
According to Blackmore, the prototype he visited had two floors. The first floor is on top of the ship's tanks and has a curved floor. This floor houses the life support equipment for the crew housing on the floor above, and the curve is big enough to be barely noticeable, according to the educator. At the center of the room is a four feet wide ladder that goes up to the second floor of the Starship HLS prototype.
Viewers can see the floor "curve up the sides under the life support equipment," adds Blackmore. This equipment includes a heat exchanger with tubes that "go out to the AC unit outside."
The prototype consists of two decks. One primary deck, and the one below it housing life support/ECLSS. The lower deck does not have a flat "floor" and instead is the surface of the dome itself, with life support equipment lining the walls on racks. pic.twitter.com/zS9s3vJcnY
— TheSpaceEngineer (@mcrs987) November 2, 2024
As for the second floor, this is the deck where the astronauts will live. Blackmore describes it as a "main room that's huge" with "bunks on one side and storage shelves with foam filled space bags on the other." The room also has control seats to maneuver the ship during its lunar landing and ascent. These are "arranged like dragon (but just gaming chairs attached to boxes) are straight across from the door. 4 seats, with touch screens displaying Moon transfer, orbit, and landing maneuvers on them."
According to Blackmore, it takes a flight of 15 stairs to reach the second floor. As for the living quarters, the prototype that he visited had five bedrooms similar to those found on the International Space Station, along with "a picture showing that you can fit 20 in one ring around the ship." Blackmore is confident that "there will be no lack of space with any size crew" on Starship HLS since being inside the prototype "makes it SO clear that it's stupid big."
The prototype doesn't have windows, and Blackmore added that he saw television screens with windows simulated installed on one wall. It "isn't close to done or being filled out," and is a demonstration article for NASA.
SpaceX's Starship HLS is slated to start ship to ship propellant transfer in March, according to NASA's deputy manager for the HLS program, Dr. Kent Chojnacki. In an interview given to Spaceflight Now ahead of Starship Flight 5, Dr. Chojnacki shared that the ship to ship transfer "is a big building block" which unlocks the ability to ship significantly larger amounts of cargo in Earth orbit. NASA also wants SpaceX to initially launch Starship once every two weeks from Texas and then at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for potentially one launch per week.
Establishing this cadence will be key for SpaceX's lunar landing since it will enable it to fill a propellant tanker in Earth orbit and gauge the frequency of launches needed to keep the tanker at optimum fuel level.
Inside the HLS prototype there are 5 bedrooms (ISS style, but horizontal), and a picture showing that you can fit 20 in one ring around the ship.
Being inside makes it SO clear that it's stupid big, and there will be no lack of space with any size crew.
They only have 2 floors…— Tom Bickmore 🚀 (@The2x4) November 1, 2024
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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