SpaceX gives the all-clear to launch the Starship rocket as early as Monday | Science and technology news

SpaceX has received the all-clear to launch its Starship rocket system for the first time as early as this week.

That’s what the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released Elon Musk‘s company, licensed to put its most powerful missile system through its paces, said it met all safety and environmental requirements.

It means Starship could lift off from Brownsville for its first orbital test, TexasOn Monday.

Sitting on a giant Super Heavy Booster with a total height of 120m, Starship is the largest and most powerful missile system in the world. It was Introduced for the first time in 2019.

Once operational, it will be used to launch satellites into orbit – and SpaceX founder musk said it will eventually carry astronauts to the moon and even to Mars.

The billionaire said each launch this week has only a 50 percent chance of success but believes there is an 80 percent chance of reaching orbit by the end of the year.

The Super Heavy Booster, which has 33 rocket engines, had a stationary launch test in Februaryand generated enough energy to reach orbit.

How will the first orbital test work?

The spacecraft would be carried into the sky from a launch pad in Brownsville by a super-heavy prototype called Booster 7.

The second stage of the rocket system – the vehicle that would carry a crew of astronauts in the future – would then deploy and complete a full orbit before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing into the Pacific.

Meanwhile, the first stage in the Gulf of Mexico would be discarded.

No landings will be attempted on the first test flight, and there will be no satellites or people on board.

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Will it definitely start this week?

Given the potential for technical issues or weather delays, there are obviously no guarantees for space launches, but SpaceX is targeting Monday.

If not, a notice from the FAA suggests Tuesday and Wednesday as fallback dates.

Once a time is set in stone, SpaceX’s website says the launch window will last two and a half hours.

The build and launch itself will be streamed live on the company’s website.

If, as Musk predicts, this week’s test doesn’t go according to plan, there will be more later this year.

The license issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration is then valid for five years NASA hopes to have transported astronauts to the lunar surface with Starship through its Artemis program for the first time in more than 50 years.

The privately financed mission “dearMoon” is also aiming for a crew to the moon and back aboard Starship.