(ORDO NEWS) — SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said Thursday that the first orbital flight of his launch pad-mounted Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built in human history, could take place in one to two months.
Although the entrepreneur admits the possibility of a failed launch, he is confident that the Starship will reach orbit by the end of the year.
Musk made this first major Starship mission status update in two years, standing next to a 119-meter rocket at SpaceX’s spaceport site in Texas, USA. He inspired the crowd that had gathered at night: “Let’s make it happen!”
NASA plans to use the fully reusable Starship spacecraft to land astronauts on the moon as early as 2025. Musk, meanwhile, hopes to create a Starship flotilla that will build a city on Mars, where equipment and the first settlers will be delivered.
Currently, the first flights of this rocket are aimed at launching Internet satellites called Starlinks into orbit.
SpaceX’s super-powerful first stage, called the Super Heavy, has yet to take off. But the bullet-shaped, futuristic steel Starship craft — housed at the top of the rocket as its upper stage — already successfully took off and landed on its own last May, accompanied by a series of spectacular explosions.
This device rose into the air to a height of more than 10 kilometers.
SpaceX is awaiting approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to move on to the next stage of Starship preparation – orbital launch.
Musk said he expects a “green light” in March and that the rocket will be ready to fly by that time. This means that the launch will take place within the next couple of months, he added.
If the FAA asks for more information about the possible environmental impact or if there is legal action, Musk said the launches could be moved to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. However, this would mean a launch delay of more than six months, he said.
The full-sized Starship craft is quite massive – taller than any NASA lunar rocket built to date. In addition, the thrust of a rocket during takeoff is almost twice the thrust of the most powerful rocket launched by mankind.
Musk also noted that in addition to terrestrial spaceports, the Starship system is capable of launching from floating ocean platforms.
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