SpaceX aims to launch Starship, the most powerful rocket ever constructed, next week, with its first test flight possibly the following week, the private space company announced Thursday.
SpaceX released images of the gigantic Starship, which is intended to eventually transport astronauts to the Moon and beyond, on its launchpad at the company’s Texas center.
SpaceX tweeted, “Starship fully stacked at Starbase.” “The team is planning a launch rehearsal for next week, followed by Starship’s first integrated flight test a week later, subject to regulatory approval.”
Before carrying out the orbital test launch, SpaceX will require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
In February, SpaceX successfully tested the 33 Raptor engines on Starship’s first-stage booster.
During the static fire, the 230-foot (69-meter) Super Heavy rocket was attached to the ground to prevent it from lifting off.
The starship is made out of a reusable capsule for crew and cargo, as well as a first-stage booster.
NASA has chosen the Starship capsule to transport men to the Moon as part of the Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2025 at the earliest.
In November 2024, the US space agency will launch personnel into lunar orbit using its own heavy rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), which has been in development for more than a decade.
The Starship is larger and more powerful than the SLS.
It has a thrust of 17 million pounds, which is more than double that of the Saturn V rockets used to transport Apollo men to the Moon.
SpaceX envisions launching a Starship into orbit and then refueling it with another Starship to continue its voyage to Mars or beyond.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn, China’s Long March 9, and Russia’s Yenizei are among the other super heavy rockets in development.
