SpaceX intends to fly Starship from Texas to Hawaii during its first orbital flight test, which may happen as soon as next week.
Space enthusiasts from around the world have been looking forward to this flight since the company announced. It was later renamed to 'Starship'. The spaceship is designed to land NASA Artemis astronauts on the Moon by 2025 and send the first humans to Mars after that.
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UPDATE: Potential Starship launch timeline has been changed, not NET April 10 anymore. Could be until the third week of April like @elonmusk previously said. 🍀 Guess we will have to wait until the FAA officially issues a launch license to know for sure.https://t.co/aDpNM4SDgm
— Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo (@JaneidyEve) April 5, 2023
The Super Heavy rocket will be launched from the Starbase launch site at Boca Chica Beach, Texas. The rocket will return to land in the Gulf of Mexico around 35 kilometers off the Boca Chica Beach shore, while Starship continues to circle the globe with an altitude of at least 100 kilometers. The soft landing will take place in the Pacific Ocean along the northwest coast of Kauai, Hawaii. The journey is expected to take around an hour and 30 minutes.
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The test flight will give vital data that will help speed up the development of the rocket-ship. According to a U.S. On Monday, April 10, the launch window begins at 8:10 a.m. There will be back-up launch opportunities on April 11 and April 12.
A cool video animation of a Starship lifting off that mentions the launch timeline beginning on April 10 is an indicator that the information is accurate. The company is waiting for an official FAA license which is likely to be granted soon. The Super Heavy Booster 7 was completed by SpaceX today. We must wait until FAA issues license or SpaceX officially announces a flight date, as multiple sources state the launch timeline has changed.
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elonmusk previously said it could be until the third week of April. According to an FAA Operations Plan Advisory released just, we will have to wait until the FAA officially issues a launch license to know for sure. NASASpaceflight shared that engineers performed a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) of Booster 7 during which it was filled with cryogenic propellants to mimic launch operations and ensure all systems are working well. The rocket-ship is powered by liquid Methane and liquid Oxygen.
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Super Heavy is expected to become the world's most powerful rocket once it's operational. It's filling up nicely with LOX and CH4. Space enthusiasts who would like to visit Starbase to watch the launch must know that only people are allowed at Boca Chica Beach. There is a Border Patrol checkpoint on the road.
The launch will be visible from South Padre Island, Texas, which has multiple tourist attractions and launch viewing areas, including Isla Blanca Park, where the Starbase launch pad is clearly visible to the naked eye across a ship channel. Only people with official access are allowed at Starbase Boca Chica Beach.