Seeing Double

Two separate prototypes of SpaceX’s Starship rocket could be ready to fly before the end of August, CEO Elon Musk revealed to the Twittersphere on Saturday — though it’s not clear whether the debut would be a short hop or a historic orbital adventure.

On August 24, SpaceX will hold a presentation in Boca Chica, Texas, to update the world on its Starship program. In a tweet discussing the presentation, Musk noted that SpaceX “should have Starship Mk1 with 3 Raptors almost ready to fly by then” — an exciting sign the company is making tremendous progress on its Mars-bound rocket.

Nearing Launch

SpaceX currently has two teams building Starship prototypes, one in Boca Chica and the other in Cocoa, Florida. On July 19, Musk noted via tweet that both prototypes would fly in “2 to 3 months,” so having them ready by the end of August would seemingly put the company well ahead of schedule.

Of course, saying the rockets should be ready to fly isn’t the same as saying SpaceX will send them into orbit before the end of the month. However, Saturday’s tweet does seem to imply that Musk is optimistic about his company’s progress on the rocket — adding a bit of extra excitement to the forthcoming Boca Chica presentation.

READ MORE: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says first orbital Starship prototype flight debut is just weeks away [Teslarati]

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