- The Starshop’s first orbital flight could take place within two weeks
- A dress rehearsal with countdown and testing of all the firing systems would have been scheduled for this week
- Elon Musk said on Sunday that the rocket is “ready for launch” and that SpaceX is only waiting for the green light from the authorities
Is the Starship soap opera about to end? It’s been almost two years since Elon Musk and SpaceX announced the upcoming launch of the first orbital flight of Starship, the firm’s giant rocket. In question, according to the contractor, administrative problems leading to tensions with the FAA. The dossier is complex, but the authority wanted to ensure a minimal environmental impact on the Boca Chica site in Texas – which the firm has since renamed Starbase.
There is also, on the other side, the question of the viability of the launch itself (and risk management) on a highly experimental project. This time, however, SpaceX put it to work to refine its rocket, to carry out a whole battery of tests on the ground and in atmospheric space, on the two stages of the rocket. At the beginning of February, the firm for the first time assembled the two stages of Starship while filling its fuel tanks. A test that ended in success.
Starship’s first orbital flight in two weeks?
A few days later, the firm tested the simultaneous static ignition of the 33 Raptor engines, giving an idea of the phenomenal power of the machine. From then on, nothing really prevented the first orbital flight of the rocket. Although it should be noted that this last test was a partial success: two engines stopped before the end of the test. However, despite everything, everything indicates that the long-awaited moment is approaching.
Starship fully stacked at Starbase. Team is working towards a launch rehearsal next week followed by Starship’s first integrated flight test ~week later pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/9VbJLppswp
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 6, 2023
In a tweet, SpaceX said the countdown and all system testing and ignition would be done as in a real launch this week – while saying a launch could happen the following week, subject to fire. FAA green. Then on Sunday Elon Musk added a piece to the jukebox, saying in a tweet: “Starship is ready for launch. Subject to the agreement of the authorities”.
Starship is ready for launch ?
Awaiting regulatory approval
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2023
A Space.com info taken up by Engadget claims that the FAA has granted a provisional launch window for April 17, 2023. However, the authority still needs to confirm this window so that Elon Musk can give his “go for launch” to the teams. from Starbase. The launcher is crucial for Elon Musk’s projects, but also those of NASA. Indeed, it is indeed a version of the Starship which has been chosen to bring humanity back to the Moon. It is also this launcher that should be used to launch the second generation of Starlink satellites, making it possible to explode the speeds and capacities of the constellation of satellites.
