- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Starship could launch next month “if the rest of the tests go well.”
- Launch will determine whether a reusable spacecraft can carry a crew on a mission to the moon.
- SpaceX has a NASA contract to create a human lander as part of the Artemis program.
Elon Musk said on Saturday that SpaceX plans to try to launch a reusable Starship rocket into orbit in March “if the rest of the tests go well.”
CEO of SpaceX comment Came as a reply to a Twitter user ask If Starship is almost ready for launch.
SpaceX aims to demonstrate at launch that Starship can carry crews on NASA missions to “Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.” website state.
NASA Awarded SpaceX With a contract worth nearly $3 billion in 2021, Starship will create a commercial human lander to land humans on the moon as part of the Artemis program. two manned missions to the moon, Artemis 3 and 4is expected to be launched in 2025 and 2027.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2023
Before Musk teased In January, it announced a launch attempt “soon”, suggesting it could be as early as the end of February or March.
The Starship test flight will launch from the Starbase spaceport site in Boca Chica, Texas. federal application show. According to the filing, its rocket booster, Super Heavy, will land at Starbase or the Gulf of Mexico, while Starship will land in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX has not yet officially announced a Starship launch date, and did not immediately respond to an Insider’s request for comment.
Tests of the Super Heavy prototype at the Boca Chica test facility in July last year failed after flames burst from the test pad’s engine and the sound of an explosion.
rear video Images of the explosion were shared on Twitter and Musk. murmured: “Yeah, not really good. The team is evaluating the damage.”