Elon Musk’s most bizarre invention yet? SpaceX unveils a Starship rocket-shaped BLOWTORCH – but it will set you back $175
- SpaceX has launched the pre-sale of a collectable light-sabre-looking torch
- It costs $175 and can be used as both a lighter and a display model of a Starship
- The release came amidst the failure of Starship’s rocket launch just this Monday
SpaceX’s $3 billion Starship rocket may have failed to launch yesterday, but the firm has made up for the disappointment with a new Starship-themed product – a rocket-shaped blowtorch.
Elon Musk announced the pre-sale of his new collectable torch yesterday, designed for numerous purposes such as melting cheese and lighting candles.
Despite looking like a light sabre, SpaceX stressed that this $175 burner is not a toy, but can still be ‘bad-a** 1:200 scale model’ of the spacecraft.
Its flame is also designed to be windproof and adjustable, with a safety lock for the protection of owners.
‘The man in black, Johnny Cash knew a thing or two about burning desire,’ the advert reads.
SpaceX has launched the pre-sale of a collectable $175 light-sabre-looking torch
ELON MUSK’S BIZARRE INVENTIONS
‘But love isn’t the only thing that burns. Sometimes you just want to caramelize the sugar on a crème brûlée or melt some cheese without all the subtext. Enter the Starship Torch.
‘Who needs weak matches when you’ve got the power of Starship in your hands?’
The release came just as the massive 395-foot-tall rocket was set to complete almost one circuit of the globe ahead of the Musk’s dreams of reaching Mars.
Hundreds of spectators gathered around the Starbase facility in Texas before the launch countdown clock had even started.
But SpaceX pulled the plug with less than eight minutes to go, with Musk tweeting that the ‘pressurant valve’ was frozen.
SpaceX’s Kate Tice also added during a livestream: ‘The point of the countdown is to allow the teams to progress that T-zero time in a coordinated fashion and really to unveil any issues prior to the ignition sequence.’
The launch was postponed for at least 48 hours from its original take-off time at 2pm GMT yesterday.
Yet, amid the uncertainty, Twitter was flooded with comments about the ‘mini Starship with [a] flame’ that Elon Musk shared online last night.
The mini rocket release came amidst the failure of Starship’s rocket launch just this Monday
Elon Musk tweeted that the ‘pressurant valve’ was frozen on the Starship – delaying its launch
Twitter was flooded with comments about the ‘mini Starship with [a] flame’ that Elon Musk shared online last night
The Tesla CEO announced the new fragrance Burnt Hair to his millions of Twitter followers
One user said: ‘I decided last week I needed a kitchen torch, and lo and behold! here is the perfect one! Preordered.’
Another added: ‘Bought mine I’ll be using it to light cigars. The not a flamethrower is too much flame.’
Various other users also uploaded screenshots of their SpaceX receipts, spending $175 on the Starship torch and sometimes a further $130 on jumpers.
‘When are we going to colonize mars @elonmusk,’ another joked while one person tweeted: ‘That thing looks dual-purpose.’
The refillable torch also follows the release of numerous other bizarre creations put forward by Musk.
Last year, the Tesla CEO announced the new fragrance Burnt Hair to his millions of Twitter followers.
Costing $100 a bottle, the ‘The Essence of Repugnant Desire’ was sold on Musk’s Boring Company website alongside numerous flamethrowers.
Other unusual products have included Tesla shorts with ‘S3XY’ printed across the back and even a ‘Teslaquila’ alcohol brand.
The tequila brand initially started as an April Fool’s joke a few years ago but soon became a hot product having sold our just hours of its launch.
It is currently unclear when the Starship torch presale ends.
The advert adds: ‘It’s collectible. It’s functional. And it burns, burns, burns. The Starship Torch.’
STARSHIP: KEY FACTS
First launch: April 17, 2023?
What will it be used for? Partly the lander for NASA’s moon missions but also to transport humans to Mars.
Height: 395ft (120m)
Weight: 11 million pounds (5 million kg)
Thrust: 17 million pounds (70 Meganetons)
Is it reusable? Yes
Max payload to low-Earth orbit: 220,000-330,000 pounds (100-150 tonnes)
Max payload to lunar orbit: 220,000 pounds (100 tonnes)
Solid fuel: N/A
Liquid fuel: Oxygen and methane
Engines: Powered by around 32 Raptor engines
Crew module: Starship (ultimately able to carry up to 100 passengers)
Cost to build: Around $3 billion (£2.4 billion) in terms of total development
Price per launch: Ultimately around $2 million (1.7 million), according to Musk
Where will it launch from? Likely the Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas. But possibly Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
Total launches: 0
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