SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket is drawing attention not only for its upcoming sixth test flight but also for a playful detail that has gone viral. The test, scheduled for November 19 at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas, will include significant evaluations of the spacecraft’s capabilities. However, it’s the banana sticker spotted on the rocket’s first stage, near the flaps, that has captured social media’s curiosity.
The sticker depicts a pixelated cartoon banana with a smiling face, holding a realistic banana. Its appearance sparked discussions, with many linking it to the popular “banana for scale” meme, where bananas are humorously used as a universal measuring tool. Given Starship’s towering height—165 feet for its first stage and 400 feet when combined with its Super Heavy booster—the sticker could be a lighthearted way to highlight the rocket’s immense size.
Starship moved to the pad at Starbase in advance of our sixth flight test pic.twitter.com/u6Mbc35ARr
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 12, 2024
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, is well-known for his playful engagement with memes and internet culture, often responding to viral trends through his posts on X. The banana sticker seems to align with his sense of humor and could be an inside joke referencing the meme’s absurdity in relation to such a massive structure.
Aerospace professionals and engineers, including United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno, have also embraced the “banana for scale” trend, even establishing the “ULA Standard Banana” as a satirical unit of measurement. This lighthearted approach to engineering has become increasingly popular in online communities.
The ULA Standard Banana is its own independent unit of measure. However, it is traceable to equivalent Imperial and SI units as follows:
ULA Standard Banana, Cavendish (USB)
Length: (USBL)
6 inches
15.24 cmMass: (USBM)
101 grams
0.101 kg
3.56267 oz
0.22266687510639 lbm— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) March 22, 2021
Meanwhile, the sixth Starship mission represents a critical milestone in SpaceX’s ambitious plans for space exploration. Scheduled to launch during a 30-minute window starting at 3:30 AM IST, the test flight will assess several spacecraft components. The rocket is also set to perform an atmospheric re-entry over the Indian Ocean, testing maneuvering adjustments aimed at improving efficiency.
Starship, which SpaceX describes as “the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built,” is designed to pave the way for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. While the banana sticker offers a moment of levity, the mission underscores SpaceX’s broader goals in revolutionizing space travel.
