Elon Musk Announces Historic Starship Rocket Launch
US company SpaceX may launch its Starship super-heavy rocket, which is being developed for manned missions to the Moon and Mars, on its first orbital test flight on April 10. This follows from the data of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which issues licenses for private space launches.
Starship is a next-generation, super-heavy, fully reusable rocket with both stages capable of landing on its tail. Its main feature should be the ability to launch 100 tons of cargo into orbit in a ship integrated with the upper stage, as well as refuel this ship using fuel tankers from modified upper stages. It is Starship that will have to deliver astronauts to the moon under the NASA Artemis program in the second half of the 2020s.
If successfully developed, Starship will replace all existing SpaceX rockets and space transportation systems: Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, cargo and manned Dragon V2. SpaceX estimates that Starship launches will be cheaper than launches of other systems. Therefore, given all the functions of the spacecraft, the first attempt to launch Starship is called historic.
Recall that SpaceX planned to carry out the first orbital launch of a rocket back in 2021, but subsequently the launch was repeatedly postponed.
