Starship spacecraft could make its first orbital flight in March, says Elon Musk
SpaceX is actively preparing for the next test flight of its spacecraft.
It's been over a year and a half since we've seen a SpaceX Starship prototype fly. The spacecraft, which is to take men around the Moon and possibly Mars one day, has yet to complete an orbital flight. A key step that would be close according to Elon Musk. This weekend, the billionaire published a tweet announcing that the first orbital flight of the Starship could take place as soon as next month.
SpaceX has made a series of high-altitude flights of its spacecraft that all ended in explosions except for the last successful attempt on May 5, 2021.
Soon after, the company announced that it would kick into high gear and begin producing more Raptor engines , testing Super Heavy launcher prototypes, and preparing for the first orbital flight. The Starship is scheduled to lift off from SpaceX's base in Texas atop the Super Heavy, which will return to land on a pad in the Gulf of Mexico after separation, while the Starship will continue its journey to orbit before rebounding. land in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii.
The Starship must participate in the Artemis mission
The flight plan was hampered by a number of delays, largely related to the process of obtaining a license from the Federal Aviation Administration. SpaceX's application first had to go through an environmental review process that lasted several months. The agency eventually cleared the mission, but demanded that SpaceX make dozens of changes to its program. For now, the FAA has still not given the green light.
SpaceX isn't the only party interested in seeing Starship fly again. Nasa chose it to be one of the vehicles it will send to the Moon as part of the Artemis program , which aims to bring astronauts back to the lunar surface this decade.
Source: websites Internet