--- title: "Spacex Lifts Humongous Super Heavy Booster onto Launch Pad" description: "SpaceX is finally getting ready to stack its gigantic 160-foot Starship prototype dubbed Ship 20 on top of its even taller Super Heavy booster." date: "2021-08-05" modified: "2021-08-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-super-heavy-booster-launch-pad" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "super heavy" - "the digest" --- # Spacex Lifts Humongous Super Heavy Booster onto Launch Pad ![SpaceX is finally getting ready to stack its gigantic 160-foot Starship prototype dubbed Ship 20 on top of its even taller Super Heavy booster.]() *\Image: Elon Musk via Twitter\* ## The Great Stacking SpaceX is finally getting ready to stack its 160-foot Starship prototype, dubbed Ship 20, on top of its even taller orbital-class Super Heavy booster, Booster 4, in South Texas. It's a momentous occasion for the Elon Musk-led company, as it will mark the first time the spacecraft will be seated on top of a booster — and, in all likelihood, will precede the spacecraft's maiden voyage to space. Unless, of course, it [explodes]() like several previous prototypes. ## Lifting Booster The company had been hoping to launch its first orbital test flight [as early as last month]() — but when it will actually happen is still unclear. The Federal Aviation Administration is still in the midst of conducting an [environmental review](). Booster 4 was lifted into the air by a gigantic crane on Wednesday afternoon and lowered onto the orbital launch pad's "launch table," [*Teslarati* reports](). Images shared by Musk show the gigantic structure, featuring 29 Raptor engines, suspended around 100 feet in the air. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1423041198764265473 Meanwhile, Ship 20 is slowly [making its way]() to the crane, which will eventually stack it on top of Booster 4. If all goes well, the booster will eventually carry Starship high into the Earth's atmosphere. Starship will then ignite its own engines and propel itself into orbit. According to [documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission](), SpaceX will attempt to land the Booster in the Gulf of Mexico. Starship will fly off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai for a "soft ocean landing." And we'll be watching. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX installs booster on launch pad, stacks orbital Starship to full height]() \[*Teslarati*\] **More on Starship:** *[Blue Origin Posts Salty Infographic About SpaceX]()* ## 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]()