SpaceX, the space company under the direction of Elon Musk, has been developing its giant rocket called Starship for a long time. Musk recently announced that the rocket that will carry people to the Moon and eventually Mars is ready for orbital flight, and said that this trial could take place in the near future. It was stated that the only obstacle for the flight was the approval required to be obtained from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Today, the expected news came and it was announced from the FAA that the necessary permissions were obtained for the orbital test of the Starship vehicle with the Super Heavy rocket. After that, the first information about when the flight will take place came.
The first orbital test is scheduled for Monday.
SpaceX, in a statement on its website, stated that it aims for the orbital test on Monday, April 17, at 15:00. In the test, which will be a turning point for the company, it was stated that the Starship and Super Heavy rocket will be launched from the Starbase base in Texas.
The 120-meter Starship is a vehicle that can carry both cargo and people. The most important feature is that it is completely reusable. SpaceX says that the vehicle will enable humanity to return to the Moon, and that it will help travel to Mars and beyond in the future. The first layer of the two-layer vehicle consists of the Super Heavy rocket, and the second layer consists of the Starship spacecraft.
NASA had chosen Starship to carry astronauts to the Moon in the Artemis III mission to be held in late 2025. For the Moon mission to be held in November 2024, he chose his own rocket SLS. Let’s mention that Starship is both bigger and stronger than SLS.
How to watch Starship orbital flight?
The entire flight, which will take approximately 90 minutes, will start from the Starbase base and will end near Hawaii. SpaceX also added that the launch will be broadcast live on YouTube.