SpaceX’s Starship awaits FAA approval for orbital launch attempt

Last week, SpaceX announced that it was preparing for a launch fully stacked The spacecraft is on its first orbital flight test following this week’s launch test and awaited regulatory approval. Now SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is making sure It’s ready, with the release of a “trend near the end of the third week of April,” Musk said he wrote in a tweet on Monday.

Starship is SpaceX’s long-awaited flagship spacecraft designed to carry astronauts and payloads into deep space – including the Moon and, of course, Mars. Most importantly, the parts are designed to be reusable, and they are paired with a massive booster known as the Super Heavy to remove it from the Earth’s surface.

SpaceX’s Starship is all ready for testing at the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Starship has faced several launch delays, including a major setback last summer when the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) determined there would be some environmental impact around the base.

But now all that’s left to get Starship and Super Heavy is a license from the FAA. “The FAA will not make a decision on licensing until the agency is satisfied that SpaceX meets all licensing, safety, and other regulatory requirements,” an FAA spokesperson stated in an email. to street.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration Operations plan consultingSuper Heavy may be due for release on April 17, with backup dates for each next day after the 22nd. Contact Sources to Ars Technica SpaceX says it is working closely with the FAA and that the regulator is expected to finally provide a license.

If the April 17 launch date becomes a reality, that means SpaceX is just a week away from finally launching the Super Heavy, which it hasn’t done yet. It is expected that once launched the Super Heavy and Starship will separate, then the Super Heavy will head into the Gulf of Mexico while the Starship will travel into orbit. Soon after, the spacecraft will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land vertically in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.