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The launch of this rocket, intended for flights to the moon and the planet Mars, was postponed due to technical problems. After a first unsuccessful attempt in the spring, Elon Musk’s company will conduct a new test flight on Saturday.
Published on November 17th, 2023 07:22 Updated on November 17th, 2023 08:52
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A phone is placed near the observer area as SpaceX’s giant spacecraft sits on the launch pad in Boca Chica, November 16, 2023, Texas. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
False start. SpaceX has postponed the highly anticipated second launch of the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, Starship, by a day due to technical problems, Elon Musk, the head of the American company, announced on Thursday, November 16. This second test flight is being closely scrutinized by NASA, which is relying on this spacecraft for its return trips to the moon after a first attempt in the spring ended in a massive explosion.
Elon Musk said on . “The start is therefore postponed to Saturday,” he concluded.
Preparations for the start on Saturday pic.twitter.com/gIpnubscWa
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 16, 2023
On April 20, Starship launched in its full configuration for the first time. But several engines malfunctioned and SpaceX intentionally blew up the rocket after four minutes. The rocket disintegrated into a fireball and plunged into the Gulf of Mexico, sending a cloud of dust over a city several miles away.
Within seven months, the launch pad was rebuilt and a water flooding system was installed and tested. These streams of water that emerge when the engines start must dampen the sound waves and thus limit vibrations. In the long term, SpaceX plans to use Starship to reach the planet Mars.
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