Starship completed its first full flight-like wet dress rehearsal at Starbase on January 24.
SpaceX’s chief Elon Musk said over the weekend that the company will attempt Starship launch in March. It is noteworthy that the American aerospace company has been looking to launch its reusable transportation system since last year.
“If remaining tests go well, we will attempt a Starship launch next month,” Musk said in response to a Tweet asking if Starship is ready.
Last month, Musk said that he is hopeful that SpaceX’s first orbital flight could take off as soon as next month. “We have a real shot at late February. March launch attempt appears highly likely,” he Tweeted on January 8.
Starship, which collectively refers to a SpaceX spacecraft and super heavy rocket, is claimed to represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to the Earth’s orbit, the Moon, and Mars. “Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry up to 150 metric tonnes to Earth orbit reusable, and up to 250 metric tonnes expendable,” the SpaceX website read.
Worries over the delay in the launch of the first Starship orbital flight since May 5 2021 surfaced primarily due to a delay in SpaceX getting a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Additionally, in June last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, reportedly wanted to ensure that the launch of Musk’s next-generation rocket from Florida would not pose a risk to the nearby launch infrastructure critical to the International Space Station.
Starship completed its first full flight-like wet dress rehearsal at Starbase on January 24. “This was the first time an integrated Ship and Booster were fully loaded with more than 10 million pounds of propellant,” the company Tweeted. SpaceX’s test flight is scheduled to lift off from Starbase and will travel around Earth once before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
