SN10 slows as it approaches the ground SpaceX envisages Starships replacing its existing Falcon rockets. These vehicles carry out regular missions - both crewed and uncrewed - for the US space agency (Nasa), the American military, and other commercial concerns. But CEO Elon Musk says the new 50m-tall Starship will do it all, bigger and better - orbiting satellites and carrying passengers, both around the Earth and to off-world destinations such as the Moon and Mars. Indeed, he's promised a lunar excursion in 2023 to the Japanese online fashion retail billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Mr Maezawa will travel in a Starship with eight other individuals, and opened applications this week to anyone who might be interested in joining his "dearMoon" venture. Artwork: SpaceX has Starship in competition to land astronauts on the Moon SpaceX already has other prototypes in various stages of assembly at Boca Chica, up to SN19 currently. The Starship will eventually launch atop a booster called Super Heavy. This too is in build at Boca Chica. It will feature perhaps 28 Raptors, producing more than 70 meganewtons (16 million lbs) of thrust - about double that of the mighty Apollo Saturn 5 rocket, which sent men to the Moon. When combined, both parts of the new SpaceX system - Starship and Super Heavy - will stand about 120m tall on the launch pad. The two elements are being designed to be fully reusable, making propulsive returns at the end of each mission. SpaceX hopes Starship can be involved in Nasa's return to the Moon this decade. Starship is currently in competition with a number of other aerospace companies to provide a landing system to take astronauts down to the lunar surface. Reuters