--- title: "SpaceX Slaps Logo on Starship, Drags Prototype to Launchpad" description: "SpaceX has dragged its latest orbital launch ready Starship prototype to the launch pad, as seen in footage shared by NASASpaceFlight." date: "2022-07-05" modified: "2022-07-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-starship-launchpad" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # SpaceX Slaps Logo on Starship, Drags Prototype to Launchpad ![SpaceX has dragged its latest orbital launch ready Starship prototype to the launch pad, as seen in footage shared by NASASpaceFlight.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## To the Pad SpaceX has dragged its latest orbital launch prototype of Starship to the launch pad, as seen in [footage shared by *NASASpaceFlight*]() — in an exciting new development bringing us closer to the massive spacecraft's inaugural trip into space. The space company branded the prototype, dubbed Ship 24, with its logo and insignia, in what may be an early indication we're likely to actually see it being launched, [some onlookers speculated](). https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1544283348469678081 ## Raptors on Raptors SpaceX also [shared new images]() on Monday of the spacecraft's equally colossal booster, dubbed Booster 7, currently featuring a mind-boggling 33 Raptor engines. Ship 24 will feature six engines as well, allowing it to propel itself into a stable orbit. While we still don't know when the launch will take place — hopefully before the end of the year — the company has previously [filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission](), giving us a pretty good idea of what to expect. The goal is to have Starship take off from the company's testing facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, fly on between the Florida Straits, before making a "powered, targeted landing" roughly 62 miles off the coast of Hawaii. Booster 7 will attempt to make its own "partial return and land in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 20 miles from the shore." SpaceX also [tested its gigantic "Mechazilla" launch tower]() last week, which is capable of hoisting both Booster and Starship onto the company's launch platform. All the various parts are finally coming together. If all goes according to plan, SpaceX may just have a shot at turning the orbital launch industry on its head. With Starship's considerable scale, the company's capacity to send anything from Starlink satellites to astronauts into space could be changed forever — but first, it'll have to successfully get Starship off the ground. **More on Starship:** *[SpaceX Finally Lifts Super Heavy Booster Using Giant Robot Arms]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()