Context: Recently, SpaceX’s full-scale SN5 Starship prototype successfully flew to an altitude of over 500 feet for a little less than 60 seconds.

• The test flight was carried out at Boca Chica in Southern Texas, SpaceX’s commercial launch site designed for orbital missions.

What is the SN5 Starship prototype?

• It is a stainless steel test vehicle which is a part of the Starship spacecraft 
• It is powered by a single Raptor engine.

What is Starship?

• Starship is a spacecraft and super-heavy booster rocket.
• It acts as a reusable transportation system for crew and cargo to the Earth’s orbit, Moon and Mars. 
• SpaceX has described Starship as “the world’s most powerful launch vehicle” with an ability to carry over 100 metric tonnes to the Earth’s orbit.
• Starship has been under development since 2012 which is a part of Space X’s central mission to make interplanetary travel accessible and affordable. The company is working on building a fleet of reusable launch vehicles.
• SpaceX is planning its first cargo mission to the red planet by 2022 and by 2024.

Significance

• Starship can ferry both cargo and crew to the International Space Station (ISS) and other destinations in the solar system.
• Starship is also expected to help in carrying large amounts of cargo to the Moon for human spaceflight development and research. 
• It could reduce the cost of travelling to space by a hundredfold.