SpaceX’s giant spacecraft could fly into orbit for the first time next month if all goes according to plan.
For months, SpaceX has been preparing for the first-ever orbital test flight of Starship, its next-generation space transportation system. The Company may now be on the home stretch of such preparatory work, potentially allowing Starship to be off the ground in as little as about six weeks.
“We have a real chance at the end of February. The March launch attempt seems very likely,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and CEO, via Twitter on Saturday (opens in new tab) (January 7), in response to speculation that the flight could take place as early as January 31.
Related: SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy fires test fires from 14 engines (video)
We have a real chance at the end of February. Launch attempt in March seems very likely.January 8, 2023
See more
SpaceX is developing Starship to carry people and cargo to the Moon and Mars, among other things. The giant vehicle consists of two elements, both of which are fully reusable: a giant first-tier booster called Super Heavy and a 50-meter high upper-tier starship called Starship.
The upcoming orbital test flight will apparently include a super-heavy prototype called the Booster 7 and the Ship 24 Starship variant. SpaceX has subjected both prototypes to a variety of tests at its starbase facility in south Texas.
For example, both Booster 7 and Ship 24 performed “static fire” tests, igniting their Raptor engines while remaining anchored to the ground. Ship 24 has all six of its Raptors lit simultaneously, while Booster 7 has up to 14 of its 33 engines on at once.
As this latest tally shows, SpaceX still has work to do in the run-up to orbital launch. Musk has announced that the company will conduct a 33-engine static fire with Booster 7 before sending it up.
The upcoming test flight will take off from Starbase. Ship 24 will orbit the earth once and then land off the Hawaiian island of Kauai in the Pacific Ocean. Booster 7 appears to be splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast.
The orbital test will be the first Starship test flight since May 5, 2021. On that day, a three-engine Starship prototype named SN15 climbed about 10 kilometers into the Texas sky and then landed safely back at Starbase.
SN15 took off alone, like all previous Starship prototypes that had taken off on test flights. The flight of Booster 7 and Ship 24 will mark the first time a super-heavy vehicle has taken to the skies.
Mike Wall is the author of Out There (opens in new tab) (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book on the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaelwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).