Thursday, October 10, 2024

SpaceX plans a test flight of its giant Starship rocket on Monday

The test window will open at 7 a.m. CT Monday, SpaceX said.

SpaceX is launching its powerful Starship rocket Monday morning — which is expected to eventually carry passengers to the moon and Mars.

The unmanned launch of the world’s largest rocket will mark the first flight test of a “fully integrated” Starship spacecraft and a so-called superheavy rocket, SpaceX said.

The 150-minute test window opens at 7 a.m. CT Monday at SpaceX said, while noting that the schedule is “variable and changeable”. A live webcast of the flight test will begin 45 minutes before liftoff.

The timing comes after the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday approved SpaceX’s launch of a nearly 400-foot-tall rocket from a remote base near Boca Chica Beach on the southern tip of Texas.

“Winning is possible, excitement is guaranteed!” SpaceX founder Elon Musk Tweeted Friday night.

Following the blast, the first stage of the superheavy rocket is expected to splash down about 20 miles off the coast of Boca Chica, while the Starship vehicle circles the globe before splashing down off the coast of Hawaii.

For this first flight test, SpaceX said the Starship will not attempt to land vertically or hold the booster.

SpaceX said the flight test “will inform and improve the probability of future success as SpaceX rapidly advances development of the Starship,” which is designed to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights.

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NASA already exists announced plans To use a starship to put astronauts on the lunar surface in 2025.

ABC News’ Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.

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