SpaceX has shared some stunning photos of its giant Starship stacked for launch at the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.
The next takeoff is big – the first ever orbital test flight of the Starship trolley.
“Starship is fully stacked at Starbase. The team is working towards launch rehearsal next week followed by Starship’s first integrated flight test a week later pending regulatory approval,” SpaceX he said via Twitter Thursday (Opens in a new tab) (April 6), where she shared three photos of a huge stainless steel rocket.
Related: SpaceX stacks a huge spacecraft before the orbital test flight (video)
Founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk He suggested a more accelerated timeline, he said via Twitter Thursday (Opens in a new tab) That the launch could happen as soon as next week, subject to regulatory approvals.
It appears SpaceX was looking to take off as early as Monday (April 10), but on Friday (April 7), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set a tentative launch window for a rocket. April 17th (Opens in a new tab), between 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. EST (1100 to 1500 GMT). This is a temporary goal, however; The FAA has not yet issued a launch license for the Starship’s flight, as far as we know.
The stacked craft, which consists of a Starship upper stage atop a Super Heavy booster, is 394 feet (120 meters) tall and will be the most powerful rocket ever launched when it begins flying.
The first SpaceX spacecraft image shared Thursday shows the rocket In the distance, surrounded by the coastal scenery of Starbase, which is located on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The next shot, low-angle, features a closer look at the fully reusable rocket, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tons into low Earth orbit. The third image, an overhead shot, shows a great close-up of the tip of the upper stage model of Ship 24, which was stacked atop Booster 7’s first stage on Wednesday (April 5).
SpaceX has high hopes for the Starship. The company is developing the vehicle to transport people and cargo to the moon and Mars – And some customers have already booked flights, even though the Starship has yet to go into orbit.
For example, NASA chose Starship as its first manned lander Artemis Lunar exploration programme, with a target of landing an initial astronaut in 2025.
In addition, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa A The spacecraft’s flight around the moon, which he will take on with a crew of eight artists. American engineer and businessman Dennis Tito plans to fly Various spacecraft mission around the moonWith his wife and other passengers whose names have not yet been revealed. The launch dates for these two private satellite missions have not yet been determined.
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