The two-stage rocket ship was due for blast-off from the SpaceX facility at Boca Chica, Texas, during a two-hour launch window that opens at 8 a.m. EDT
Elon Musk’s SpaceX made final preparations early on Monday to launch its powerful new Starship rocket system to space for the first time, on a brief but highly anticipated uncrewed test flight from the Gulf Coast of Texas.
But SpaceX faces enormous challenges in merely launching a spacecraft that would instantly become, if it successfully gets off the ground, the most powerful rocket on Earth. Earlier on Sunday, the California-based company said on Twitter its launch teams were moving ahead with flight preparations, while keeping a close eye on potential wind-shear conditions in the forecast that could force a delay.
But neither stage will be recovered for the expendable first test flight to space, expected to last no more than 90 minutes. The Federal Aviation Administration just last Friday granted a license for what would be the first test flight of the fully stacked rocket system, clearing a final regulatory hurdle for the long-awaited launch.
Starship’s blazing re-entry over the Pacific will test its ability to aerodynamically steer itself using large flaps and for its heat shielding to withstand the intense friction generated as it plummets through the atmosphere.
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