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SpaceX Starship Prepares For First Orbital Launch

After fully stacking Starship and Super Heavy Booster, resulting in the largest space craft ever made, SpaceX rolled the booster back to the High Bay for final testing while Starship SN20 remains at the launch site for it's final testing and the application of heat resistance tiles for its reentry into the atmosphere after launch. The orbital launch tower is now fully stacked and awaits the retractible arms which SpaceX plans to attach within the next few days. SN15 and SN16 sit behind the build site and the orbital launch tower awaits the attachment of its retractible arms within the next few days. Here you can see their progress on the evening of August 23rd, 2021 in Brownsville, Texas. (Photo by Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto)

Photo ID	#6989274
Date Taken	23 August 2021
Location	N/A
Photographer	Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto
Category	Science and Technology
Copyright	© 2026 NurPhoto - Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto

TECHNOLOGY SPACEX Brownsville largest space craft heat resistance tiles orbital launch tower Super Heavy Booster launch site High Bay final testing retractible arms build site August 23rd Reginald Mathalone Starship SN20 SpaceX application reentry atmosphere next days SN15 SN16 attachment progress evening Brownsville Texas Photo Sky Vehicle water sky tower outdoor boat