SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote on Twitter this Saturday that his company hopes that a unit of the Starship spacecraft will be ready to launch the human mission to the Moon “probably” before the year 2024. In addition, He said that “the first orbital stack of the Starship rocket should be ready for flight within a few weeks.” SpaceX now just awaits regulatory approval.
Musk’s company plans to carry out the first orbital launch test of its Starship spacecraft soon, with which it seeks to transport cargo and people to the Moon, Mars and other space missions in the future.
On May 5, SpaceX successfully tested a prototype Starship, and the vehicle, the SN15, flew at an altitude of 10 kilometers before completing a successful landing, after four failed attempts since last December that ended in explosions.
The plan for the first orbital test flight calls for a new Starship prototype (most likely the SN20) to leave the atmosphere and re-enter its first orbit and attempt a soft landing off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai, in the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the Starship Super Heavy rocket will try to land in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Boca Chica. The flight is expected to last just over 90 minutes.
Last week, SpaceX showed photos of its largest rocket, the Starship Super Heavy, fully assembled on the launch pad. SpaceX is looking for the Starship to be completely reusable rockets, which would significantly reduce their cost. The company intends to transport cargo and people to the Moon, Mars and other space missions. Each ship will be capable of carrying loads of more than 100 tons and 100 passengers at a time.
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