SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, said that the Starship will likely fly on its first orbital voyage by the end of April.
Musk tweeted on Monday, “Starship launch trending towards near the end of third week of April.”
He has previously stated that the “Starship is ready for launch.” “Awaiting regulatory approval.”
Awaiting regulatory approval”.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is yet to grant licence approval for the orbital test flight.
The launch may now take place on April 17, according to an amended notification that the agency sent on Monday.
Federal environmental compliance evaluation is another barrier.
SpaceX, meanwhile, has long been preparing for the trip. Ship 24 has been wheeled out to the orbital launch pad at Starbase by the company.
Additionally, it has tested fueling when Ship 24 is close on the ground and Booster 7 is mounted on the orbital launch platform.
The Starship is the world’s most powerful rocket, and it will be used to transport humans to the Moon and, eventually, Mars.
It is made up of a massive first-stage rocket named Super Heavy and a 50-meter-long upper-stage spaceship dubbed Starship.
Both stainless-steel spacecraft are intended to be totally and quickly reusable, and they are powered by SpaceX’s next-generation Raptor engine — 33 for Super Heavy and six for Starship.
Furthermore, Musk recently said the first-ever orbital trip of SpaceX’s huge Starship rocket had just a 50% probability of success.
He did, however, emphasize that SpaceX is manufacturing numerous Starship spacecraft at its South Texas facility.
These will be launched with quick succession over the next few months, with an estimated 80% probability of reaching orbit this year.
