The wait is starting to get long for SpaceX fans. Hopes of seeing SpaceX take off could finally materialize in just a few weeks, if we are to believe Elon Musk.
More than a year ago now, SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of its Starship rocket. This feat had been preceded by numerous unsuccessful tests that had ended in explosions, but everything led to believe that the company would quickly assemble the two floors to attempt a first orbital flight of its giant rocket.
However, Elon Musk’s hopes were soon dampened after a series of delays in obtaining test flight clearance and continued development and testing of next-generation Raptor engines. The SpaceX CEO was hoping to lift off his rocket that will take humanity to Mars late last year, but he has finally unveiled a new launch schedule.
Starship won’t take off for several weeks
On Twitter, in response to a crazy rumor announcing a theft at the end of the month, Elon Musk announced that his company has a “ real chance of getting there at the end of February “, but that a ” attempt to launch in March seems very likely “. It is therefore now at the end of the first quarter of this new year that we can expect to see Starship reach Earth orbit.
The Super Heavy B7 first stage left SpaceX’s Starbase factory in March 2022 and was subjected to a steady stream of tests, repairs, upgrades and retests over the next nine months. The last major scheduled standalone test is a full static fire with 33 engines. Together, B7’s 33 Raptor 2 engines could produce up to 7,600 tons of thrust at sea level, making Starship the most powerful rocket in spaceflight history.
It remains to be seen if SpaceX will be able to honor the new schedule announced by Elon Musk, since it is recalled, the latter has been postponed many times now. However, now that the first stage finally uses the latest generation engineseverything seems ready for a launch this year.
