SpaceX will attempt the first test flight of its integrated Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster Monday morning. Collectively known as “Starship”, it is the tallest rocket ever built, standing 120 meters tall – about 90 feet higher than the Statue of Liberty. It is also the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the Super Heavy booster equipped with 33 of SpaceX’s powerful Raptor engines – the most engines ever in a first stage rocket booster.
Starship is integral to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s vision to eventually send a crew of humans to Mars. It replaces the company’s Falcon 9 rocket – currently the world’s most launched rocket – which can carry more payload and a larger crew, while featuring a fully reusable design to help reduce costs associated with spaceflight. If all goes according to plan, SpaceX will use Starship to transport NASA’s Artemis 3 astronauts to the moon in 2025.
The launch of the Starship test flight is currently scheduled for 9 a.m. ET from the SpaceX Starbase facility in South Texas. SpaceX will begin live streaming the launch at 8:15 a.m. ET, or 45 minutes before launch.
Scheduled start time: New York: 9:00 AM / San Francisco: 6:00 AM / London: 2:00 PM / Berlin: 3:00 PM / Moscow: 4:00 PM / New Delhi: 6:30 PM / Beijing: 9:00 PM / Tokyo: 10:00 PM / Melbourne: 11:00 PM
On Monday’s test flight, Starship will take off from Texas and reach an altitude of about 150 miles, flying around the world for 90 minutes before finally crashing into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. Starship’s Super Heavy booster is expected to drop separately into the Gulf of Mexico about eight minutes after launch. A full flight plan for the test can be found at the SpaceX website.
SpaceX eventually plans to land and reuse Starship and its Super Heavy booster. But ahead of the vehicle’s first test flight, the company is not yet focused on Starship’s reusable design features. Instead of trying to land a Starship vertically or catch the Super Heavy booster, both vehicles will crash into the ocean and sink.
Data from Monday’s test is intended to help engineers make improvements for future launches and fix any issues that arise during flight — provided the launch is successful. If problems arise that prevent Monday’s test flight from taking place, The New York Times reports that SpaceX will try to launch again throughout the week.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is trying to keep expectations low in the run-up to the test flight. “If we get far enough away from the launch pad before something goes wrong, I think I would consider that a success. Just don’t blow up the launch pad,” Musk said in a live chat on Twitter Spaces Sunday night. “The chances of causing an abortion and having to delay the launch are high.”
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