Starship is currently most powerful rocket which will allow the
company to send people to the Moon and Mars
CEO of Twitter and
SpaceX Elon Musk has said that its powerful rocket is all set to be launched
from its facility in Texas, US.
The test flight of the rocket is
scheduled for April 17, by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
however, the company will only be able to launch the Starship when its
license is approved by US FAA.
The Starship is currently the most
powerful rocket which will allow the company to send people to the Moon and
Mars.
Taking to Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk said in a tweet:
"Starship is ready for launch. Awaiting regulatory approval."
Starship is ready for launch 🚀
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2023
Awaiting regulatory approval
The spaceship comprises a giant first-stage booster — Super Heavy —and a 50 metres upper-stage spacecraft called Starship, according to SpaceX.
Powered by SpaceX's next-generation Raptor engine, both vehicles are made up of stainless steel which can be reused.
Moreover, Musk recently said that there is only a 50% chance that the first-ever orbital mission of SpaceX's huge Starship vehicle will be a success.
He also said that his company is building several other space vehicles at his facility in Texas, reported Times of India.
These will be launched in relatively quick succession over the coming months, and there's about an 80% chance one of them will reach orbit this year.
Last week, SpaceX's commercial communications satellite Falcon 9 blasted off into orbit with a NASA Earth science instrument aboard.
The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Florida that carried Intelsat 40E satellite toward geostationary transfer orbit.
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster supporting this mission previously launched CRS-26, said SpaceX.
Intelsat 40E is a modern geostationary satellite which aims to give access to the company and its customers all across North and Central America.
The geostationary satellite — carried by rocket — is developed by Maxar Technologies which also hosts NASA's Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) as a payload.
The satellite will be stationed in a geostationary orbit — 22,000 miles above the Earth — performing its tasks as other geostationary satellites do.
