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On Monday morning, SpaceX plans to undertake the maiden test flight of its combined Starship spaceship and Super Heavy launcher. Its aggregate name is “Starship,” and at 394 feet (120 metres), or nearly 90 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, it is the highest rocket ever constructed. With 33 of SpaceX’s powerful Raptor engines installed in the Super Heavy booster, the most engines ever used in a first stage rocket booster, it is also the most powerful launch vehicle ever created.
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, is committed to sending a crew to Mars in the future. It replaces the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, which is now the most commonly launched rocket in the world. It is capable of transporting more cargo and a larger crew and has a fully reusable design that helps lower the cost of spaceflight. In 2025, SpaceX will utilise Starship to send NASA’s Artemis 3 crew to the moon, assuming all goes according to plan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5QXreqOrTA
Liftoff for the Starship test flight is currently targeted for 9.20AM ET from the SpaceX Starbase facility in South Texas. SpaceX will begin livestreaming the launch at 8:15AM ET.
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Scheduled liftoff time: New York: 9.20AM / San Francisco: 6.20AM / London: 2.20PM / Berlin: 3.20PM / Moscow: 4.20PM / New Delhi: 6:50PM / Beijing: 9.20PM / Tokyo: 10.20PM / Melbourne: 11.20PM
Teams are completing final checkouts and reviews ahead of Starship’s first flight test attempt; weather is looking pretty good for tomorrow morning but we're keeping an eye on wind shear https://t.co/bG5tsCUanp pic.twitter.com/uutSyk93O5
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 16, 2023
How do I watch the SpaceX Starship launch?
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On the website or YouTube channel of SpaceX, you may watch the live stream there. As an alternative, the live feed is also embedded above.
What will happen during the SpaceX Starship test flight?
Starship will launch from Texas on Monday and ascend to a height of around 150 miles before beginning a 90-minute trip around the globe before crashing into the Pacific Ocean close to Hawaii. Around eight minutes after launch, Starship’s Super Heavy rocket is anticipated to crash independently into the Gulf of Mexico. You may see out the test’s complete flight plan on the SpaceX website.
Starship and its Super Heavy rocket will eventually be landed and reused, according to SpaceX. However, the corporation isn’t currently concentrating on Starship’s reusable design elements for the vehicle’s initial test flight. Both the Starship and the Super Heavy booster will crash on the ocean floor rather than trying to land vertically.
If the launch is successful, data from Monday’s test will be used to assist engineers correct any problems that surface during the flight and make improvements for subsequent flights. The New York Times writes that SpaceX will attempt the launch again throughout the week if any problems do develop that prevent Monday’s test mission from going place.
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, is attempting to temper expectations prior to the test flight. “I suppose I would consider it to be a success if we get far enough off the launchpad before something goes wrong. Just keep the launchpad from blowing up, Musk advised during a live Twitter Spaces discussion on Sunday evening. The likelihood of us initiating an abort and delaying the launch is high.
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