SpaceX's Starship 'ready for launch', Elon Musk Says
SAN FRANCISCO, April 9 (IANS) - Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday said his deep-space rocket Starship is ready to take off from SpaceX's launch pad in the US.
However, the first flight must be approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
"Starship is ready for launch. Awaiting regulatory approval," he tweeted.
Starship is ready for launch 🚀
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2023
Awaiting regulatory approval
The FAA has reportedly canceled the missile's orbital test flight for April 17.
Starship is the most powerful rocket in the world and is used to send people to the moon and eventually to Mars.
The spaceship consists of a large first stage booster called Super Heavy and a 50 meter upper stage spaceship called Starship.
Both stainless steel vehicles are designed to be fully and quickly reusable, and both use SpaceX's next-generation Raptor engines (33 for the Super Heavy and 6 for the Starship).
Additionally, Musk recently said that there is only a 50 percent chance of a successful first orbital mission for SpaceX's massive spacecraft.
But he also emphasized that SpaceX is building several Starship vehicles at its South Texas location.
These planes will be launched one after the other over the next few months, and there is about an 80% chance that one of them will reach orbit before the end of this year.