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Innovative Collaboration: Google CEO Sundar Pichai Envisions SpaceX’s Starship for Quantum Computing
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, recently proposed the intriguing concept of utilizing SpaceX’s Starship to establish quantum computing clusters in outer space. This idea emerged during a dialogue on social media with Elon Musk, who expressed his agreement and noted its feasibility for the future. The timing of their discussion coincided with SpaceX’s successful static fire test of the towering 232-foot rocket in Texas.
Upcoming Flight Operations for Starship and Boosters
The recent static fire test of the Super Heavy booster took place less than a month following the Starship Flight 6. This test is pivotal as it forms part of the checklist before a subsequent test flight, indicating that the upcoming Starship launch could occur as soon as January. This information arises from a prior request by NASA to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) related to the mission’s timeline.
For the next flight, the focus will center on the upper-stage booster, which is crucial for assessing SpaceX’s capability to execute a daring tower catch maneuver with the spacecraft.
Google’s Breakthrough with Quantum Computing Chip Willow
In conjunction with the discussion about space utilization, Google recently unveiled its groundbreaking quantum computing chip named Willow. In his conversation with Musk, Pichai highlighted that Willow could perform a calculation in under five minutes that would take a supercomputer ten septillion years, a feat claiming to transcend known time scales in physics and the universe’s age.
This remarkable assertion, shared in a blog post by Google, suggests that quantum computation may operate across multiple parallel universes, supporting the theory of a multiverse. The Willow chip is the product of manufacturing efforts at Google’s facility in Santa Barbara, California. The company aims to showcase practical “beyond-classical”computations using today’s quantum chips soon.
Starship Flight 7 Preparations and Specifications
While SpaceX has remained relatively quiet about the details of Starship Flight 7 following the previous flight in November, it is making significant headway with the modifications to both the first and second-stage rockets scheduled for a January launch. Enhancements include updated heat shield tiles, a revised tile layout, larger tanks, and new piping for the Raptor engines.
Noteworthy, tests of the new upper-stage spacecraft have largely scrutinized the tank designs, critical components for future missions, especially as SpaceX intends to utilize an upgraded upper stage for a propellant depot in Earth orbit.
Static Fire Test and Future Flight Objectives
With preparations for Starship Flight 7 underway, SpaceX has initiated pre-flight tests, which began with a successful propellant pump spin prime test, followed by an eight-second static fire involving an undisclosed number of engines. Typically, SpaceX shares updates on these tests via their social media platforms; however, details were not disclosed by the time of this article’s publication.
Flight 7 presents a significant opportunity for SpaceX to make its third attempt at capturing the Super Heavy booster with a tower catch mechanism. The initial attempt during Flight 5 was successful, but the company opted against a catch in Flight 6 due to complications with the launch structure.
STATIC FIRE! Just 20 days after Flight 6 launched, Booster 14 Static Fired on the same launch pad ahead of Flight 7.
Streaming on X and YT:https://t.co/zqXAsU2lzD pic.twitter.com/7bm8oPouMx
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) December 9, 2024
If you want to learn more about this collaboration between Google and SpaceX, please check the source and images.
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