A first orbital test flight of Starship may be possible soon thanks to SpaceX. At its Boca Chica, Texas facility, the company has rolled Starship 24, its 24th rocket prototype, back to the launch pad.

“Shipping Ship 24 to Starbase in preparation for the first orbital test of Starship,” the company said Wednesday on Twitter. This will be done at the launch pad, where Super Heavy Booster 7 will mate with Starship.

The company recently posted a photo on its social media of the 33 Raptor engines installed on Super Heavy B7 and the six Raptor engines on S24. It is estimated that the Starship and Super Heavy combination will generate 16 million pounds of thrust when they launch.

This is nearly twice as powerful as NASA's planned Artemis flights and more than twice the power of the Apollo missions. According to a report on Teslarati.com, the two massive pieces of hardware were already on the launch pad for testing but were rolled back after initial tests caused some damage.

As SpaceX follows a series of mitigation measures proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration, its path to launch became clearer last month. From rocket launches to advancements in the space industry, keep your telescope focused on all space-related news.

In order to move forward with a launch, SpaceX must still meet FAA safety, risk, and financial responsibility requirements. Although SpaceX preferred to keep Starship test flights in Texas.

Starship prototypes have been flown to about 6 miles altitude, and landings have been attempted, sometimes in fiery conditions. Only three or fewer Raptor engines were used in those aircraft.

During the next test flight, Starship and Super Heavy will be launched stacked together, separated, and returned to land in the Gulf of Mexico 20 miles offshore, while Starship flies around the Earth and lands in the Pacific.

Currently, Starship plans to deliver Starlink satellites as part of its growing constellation of internet satellites, as well as to help NASA get humans back on the moon by 2025. In addition, a Japanese fashion tycoon is funding a tourist flight to orbit the moon with several artists on board.

But its primary purpose is to eventually create a Mars colony that can sustain itself. On his Twitter account this week, Elon Musk said that humanity will reach Mars within your lifetime. 'Humanity will fight itself without a common goal. Mars can do the same in the future. The Moon brought us together in 1969, Mars can do the same in the future.