The American company SpaceX plans to launch its Starship super-heavy rocket, which is being developed for manned missions to the Moon and Mars, on the first test orbital flight on April 17th. This is stated in the new data of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which issues licenses for private space launches.
On April 10, SpaceX will conduct a general launch training.
The reusable rocket system consists of space ship Ship 24 and carrier Super Heavy. Its height reaches 120 meters. It is taller than any other rocket ever built in the world. The Super Heavy carrier is twice as powerful as the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy rocket being created by NASA for manned flights to the Moon.
The test flight will take place in unmanned mode.
The launch is planned to be carried out with SpaceX's launch site in Boca Chica, southeast Texas during the three-hour time window that opens April 17 at 08:00 ET (3:00 PM EDT).
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
Starship prototypes have made several high-altitude flights in 2020 and 2021, but so far the craft has escaped the atmosphere or been launched by Super Heavy.
Starship is designed to be the most powerful rocket ever, surpassing even the massive Saturn V that sent NASA astronauts to the moon. It is also one of the spacecraft that will send the next generation of Artemis astronauts back to the Moon.
The rocket will make one orbit around the Earth as part of its first flight. Ship 24 will then make a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian Islands.
