Elon Musk’s SpaceX will soon carry out its first test flight of ‘Starship,’ a rocket which, as per AFP, is touted as the company’s most powerful rocket ever built and is designed to ferry humans to the Moon and beyond. The launch which is scheduled for Monday, as per a Reuters report, comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave it a green flag. The long-awaited license allowing the space vehicle to be launched into orbit was granted on Friday. It clears the way for the test flight that is crucial to SpaceX’s goals in space.
The launch is monumental. SpaceX’s Starship is the space capsule the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected for its Artemis III mission.
“Success maybe, excitement guaranteed!,” tweeted billionaire Elon Musk late on Friday.
In a statement, FAA said: “After a comprehensive licence evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration and financial responsibility requirements.”
The licence is valid for five years. As per regulatory notices filed on Friday, the liftoff of SpaceX’s most powerful rocket ‘ever’ can happen anytime from 5:30 am to 2 pm Central time on Monday.
AFP pins the liftoff time at 7 am (1200 GMT) from the private space company’s sprawling Texas base. It also reports that in case the attempt is postponed, fallback times are scheduled for later this week.
Starship consists of a reusable capsule that carries crew and cargo and the first-stage Super Heavy booster rocket. Slated for late 2025 at the earliest, the Artemis III mission will take humans to the lunar surface.
(With inputs from agencies)
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