All that is missing is government approval. The Starship spacecraft and its Super Heavy rocket prepare for an orbital test flight. This November 17, Space X will try again. In April, the company led by Elon Musk had problems with its first attempt. The rocket self-destructed over the Gulf of Mexico.
High probability
SpaceX will broadcast the new test about 30 minutes before takeoff. “Everything is dynamic and likely to change,” the company said on its website. Starship is the replacement rocket for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. It did not reach orbit. But it became the most powerful rocket to leave the launch pad. It had more than 17 million pounds of liftoff thrust during the April 20 attempt.
“There are a lot of changes between the last Starship flight and this one, more than 1,000,” Musk said in an interview in June. “I think the likelihood of this next flight working is much higher.” Starship will ascend between 150 and 250 kilometers. The journey will take you two-thirds of the way around the Earth for a landing near Hawaii. The last time speeds of up to 2,156 kilometers per hour were reached.
NASA waiting
The Starship spacecraft will make a vertical landing at its destination. This would make the combination the industry’s first fully reusable rocket. NASA is waiting for SpaceX’s Starship. He hired Musk to provide a working version for the Artemis mission during its journey to the surface of the moon.
That mission is currently scheduled for the Artemis III flight. It won’t be before December 2025. But that would require SpaceX to get its Starship up and running sooner. And make a successful uncrewed landing on the moon. NASA will then allow its astronauts to come aboard. Space X will try again and we will know the outcome of this story.
