Finally happened! SpaceX Starship met Cybertruck pulling Raptor, all eyes shocked at Starbase...

When SpaceX's Starship finally heads to Mars, its payload could include a Tesla Cybertruck, which is completely possible. In fact, it was like a scene out of an Elon Musk-produced film that was caught on camera this week at SpaceX's Starbase in Texas by Starship Gazer, who managed to point the camera at a Tesla Cybertruck towing a massive rocket engine on a trailer. Specifically, the all-electric pickup was towing a Raptor vacuum engine meant for the second stage of the Starship launch system, which reportedly weighs around 1,600 kilograms or about 3,500 pounds. But this doesn't look like a full engine. Tesla said that the Cybertruck will have a towing capacity of over 14,000 pounds, depending on the configuration or model. In any case, this is the first time that we've seen a Cybertruck towing a SpaceX rocket engine. Previously, the all-electric pickup that's yet to be delivered was spotted towing a variety of trailers on the roads of North America and New Zealand, but never something as big as a Raptor engine. That being said, the next-gen electric pickup and the next-gen fully reusable heavy-lift rocket is truly a match made in heaven. Cybertruck looks more like a rover designed for space exploration than a truck, and the analogy in this case is particularly fitting because the Cybertruck is clad in the same stainless steel alloy that Musk's other company SpaceX will use as the skin of its forthcoming Starship spaceship. Musk said on stage during the unveiling in 2019. As we all know, Starship is also made of stainless steel for the outer shell, with an additional tile-covering layer for half of the spacecraft that will endure the highest heat from reentry. The super-heavy booster that the Starship will ride atop during its exit will be clad entirely in stainless steel. The reasoning for going with that material was a combination of cost and effectiveness, as it's actually remarkably good at withstanding and shedding high heat. Using the same stainless steel alloy across both Tesla and SpaceX will obviously provide some cost efficiencies, especially if the Cybertruck manages to become a high-volume production vehicle. There's another way that the Cybertruck could benefit SpaceX's work, and Musk alluded to it on X ahead of the event. Mars will need ground transportation too. Indeed, in November of 2019, Musk declared via Twitter at the time that a pressurized version of Tesla's Cybertruck would be the official truck of Mars. The following month, he noted in another tweet that Starship would have the payload capacity for a Cybertruck. As always with Musk, sometimes it's difficult to suss out exactly where the line is between jokes and actual plans with what he tweets, but I think in this instance, he actually meant this literally, at least at this stage in the game. A Cybertruck rover for astronaut use on Mars could theoretically benefit both Tesla and Cybertruck, Tesla and SpaceX because of efficiencies in cross-production and engineering. And as the stainless steel alloy case illustrates, one of the big benefits of designing things for space has always been that the resulting technology often turns out to have beneficial applications on Earth as well. But back on Starbase, other crucial activities are fighting for their right to be in the spotlight. Namely, the ship transport stand has arrived at the launch site, so it's likely to destack sometime today. This could have something to do with the flight termination system, or it could be stuff that is related to the FAA. But the good news is SpaceX has a two-hour closure. This is potential testing for the wet dress rehearsal status for Starship. It could also be Ship 26 in play, but we're all hoping for some full stack fun. Also, Ship 29 was undergoing another cryo test at Massey's test site yesterday. This prototype is expected to return to the build site soon for engine assembly. In other space-related news, Northrop Grumman has officially announced their plans to drop out of their current partnership involving space station development. And instead, it'll develop its own commercial space station, assisting a competing effort led by Voyager Space. Under the new partnership, the companies will cooperate on the development of fully autonomous docking systems for Northrop's Cygnus cargo spacecraft, allowing it to dock with Voyager's Starlab space station. The companies also said they will further explore opportunities to strengthen the development of Starlab. That could include Northrop providing engineering design services for that station. The two companies have been independently working on space station concepts. Both were supported and funded by NASA's Space Act Agreements as part of its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations, or CLD, program awarded late 2021. Those agreements are intended to mature the designs of their stations as part of NASA's efforts to assist the development of commercial successors to the International Space Station set to retire in 2030. Voyager Space recently added Airbus Defense and Space to its team, creating a joint venture to enable the development of Starlab. The Voyager-Northrop statement did not discuss the future of Northrop's proposed station. However, NASA said in a separate statement that Northrop will withdraw from its agreement The company has received $36.6 million out of a total $125.6 million for achieving certain milestones during that agreement. The agency spun the partnership as a positive development. NASA stated it will take the $89 million that Northrop Grumman did not receive on its CLD agreement and other unspecified funding to add milestones to the agreements it has with the Voyager Space, Blue Origin, and Axiom Space Coalition, assuming NASA and the companies can agree on the additional milestones and values. It was said at the same conference that Northrop, even while still developing its own station concept, was offering Cygnus to other commercial space station providers. Another company official said at the conference that among the upgrades to Cygnus being studied was one that would allow Cygnus to dock, rather than be berthed by a robotic arm, as it is today at the ISS. All in all, this is definitely alarming news for NASA's future space station. Its rival China, in the meantime, will send new modules to its Tiangong space station in the coming years to expand the outpost's volume and capabilities. Future plans for Tiangong were presented at the 47th International Astronautical Convention in Baku on October 4th. Zhang Chao of the China Academy of Space Technology, or CAST, presented plans to expand Tiangong from three to six modules. We will build a 180-ton six-module assembly in the future, Zhang said. Tiangong currently has three modules, each with a mass of around 22 tons. A multifunctional expansion module with six docking ports will first be launched in the coming years to allow this expansion. This will dock at the forward port of the Tianhe core module. We can then be added to Tiangong. The timeline for such launches is around four years from now. An expanded Tiangong would be just over a third of the mass of the roughly 450 metric ton ISS. The first module for the ISS, Zarya, was launched in 1998. Partners in the program are seeking to maximize the use of the aging station through 2030. Zhang also stated that the expansion interfaces for Tianghe and the Wentian experiment module are being developed to host large external payloads. Inflatable modules are also being developed. These will serve both as potential habitats and preliminary verification for crewed lunar exploration. CAST is an arm of China's state-owned main space contractor CASC. The academy develops and manufactures spacecraft, including the modules for Tiangong, and would likely be involved in the development of new modules. A Hubble-class co-orbiting space telescope named Sun Tian is planned to be launched around 2024. It'll be able to dock with Tiangong for maintenance, repairs, refueling, and upgrades. Zhang's presentation also noted that more spacecraft will probably fly co-orbitally with CSS, or the Chinese Space Station, to receive on-orbit services. The CSS will gradually play an important role as a space home port, according to Zhang. And that's about all we have for you today, folks. Thank you so much for watching, and if you want to support our channel and get access to exclusive content, please consider becoming a patron by clicking the link in the description below. Thank you for your generosity and your passion for space exploration. As always, this is Kevin from GreatSpaceX, and until next time, keep looking up!