It may have been billed as the world’s most powerful launch vehicle, but SpaceX’s highly anticipated Starship rocket has yet to make it into orbit.
Plagued by a series of delays, since the start of the year, launch has felt just months away, only to have those hopes dashed every time.
Now Elon Musk believes his $216million (£189million) ultra-superheavy rocket could finally launch into space next month, although the notoriously optimistic billionaire also warned that November “appears very likely” when October is not good.
When asked on Twitter when Starship’s first orbital flight could finally take place, he replied: “Maybe late next month, but November seems very likely.
“By then we will have two boosters and ships ready for orbit, with a full-stack production of about one every two months.”
SpaceX originally planned to launch Starship into orbit in January 2022, but was forced to postpone it after an environmental impact assessment of the Boca Chica launch site in Texas.
Elon Musk believes his Starship rocket could finally launch into space next month, although the notoriously optimistic billionaire also warned that November “looks very likely” if not
In response to a question on Twitter about when Starship’s first orbital flight might finally take place, he wrote, “Maybe late next month, but November seems very likely.”
Musk estimates that each Starship launch will cost about $10 million once fully operational, which is significantly less than the $1 billion per launch of NASA’s new mega-rocket
May of this year was predicted as the new date, but it slipped again.
The company finally got the green light from the Federal Aviation Administration to launch its Starship rocket in June, but so far the orbital flight has not materialized.
The last time the vehicle left the ground was when a Starship prototype, designated SN15, soared high within Earth’s atmosphere and landed without exploding on May 5, 2021.
Since then, SpaceX has been preparing for Starship’s first in-orbit demonstration flight, which will see the vehicle take off on a Super Heavy Booster for the first time.
Earlier this week, the giant first stage booster was fired for the first time with seven engines on the test bench.
However, that is less than a quarter of the engines that make up a fully loaded Super Heavy designed for takeoff with a total of 33 engines.
In addition to completing testing, SpaceX will need a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration before it can launch.
Assuming that’s granted, Musk hopes to conduct a full dress rehearsal of the launch and test a 33-engine Super Heavy for the first time in the coming weeks.
NASA has selected SpaceX to build a lander based on the Starship spacecraft that will return humans to the moon as part of the Artemis program this decade.
This means that the next man and woman will land on the surface of the moon as early as 2025 – as will the first person of color.
Starship’s first orbital flight will be powered by Raptor 2 engines, which Musk says are “much more powerful and reliable” than previous models, delivering 230 tons of thrust at sea level.
Starship and the Super Heavy rocket are collectively referred to as the Starship and, according to SpaceX, “represent a fully reusable transport system intended to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, to the Moon, to Mars and beyond.”
“Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to launch more than 100 tons into Earth orbit,” she added.
To date, the Starship missile series has seen nine test flights – some resulting in successful short-range jumps, while others resulted in explosions or crash landings.
To date, the Starship missile series has seen nine test flights – some resulting in successful short-range jumps, while others resulted in explosions or crash landings
The static fire test is critical to ensure the upper stage is ready for an orbital launch. SpaceX has not yet announced a date for the mission
SpaceX’s Serial Number 24 (SN24) starship unleashed intense grass fire after conducting an eight-second static fire test in Texas earlier this month
The most recent experimental launch involved the Starship SN15 prototype and took place in May 2021.
The aircraft completed a flight test at 33,000 feet in low cloud, complete with a successful climb, engine shutdown, flip maneuver, flap control and soft touchdown.
Starship is designed to be fully reusable, with both Super Heavy and Starship able to land back on the pad, ready for a future launch.
Musk estimates each Starship launch will cost around $10million (£8.8million) once fully operational, which is considerably less than the $1billion (£888million) per launch of the new ones NASA mega rocket SLS.
While Starship has yet to reach orbit, SpaceX already has paying customers aboard the rocket for missions to the moon.
“In 2023, Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and the crew of dearMoon will become the first civilian passengers on a spacecraft mission to the moon to perform a lunar flyby during their week-long voyage,” SpaceX said.
“This flight is an important step in bringing access to people who dream of going to space.”
