Global Courant 2023-04-20 13:42:19
SpaceX will attempt a second launch of its Starship rocket after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to a frozen valve in the pressurization system.
The launch will take place at the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas — about 20 miles east of Brownsville — with a 62-minute gap at 9:28 a.m. ET. A live webcast will begin 45 minutes before launch.
It comes after CEO Elon Musk warned subscribers at a Twitter “Spaces” event for Sunday night to set expectations “low” and that the launch could be delayed.
Starship is currently the world’s largest spacecraft at about 393 feet, expected to eventually carry passengers to the Moon and Mars in a similar vein to NASA’s Artemis mission.
“Starhsip is a fully reusable transportation system designed to deliver both crew and cargo to orbit, helping humanity return to the Moon and travel to Mars and beyond,” SpaceX said in a statement. press release. “With a test like this, success is measured by how much we can learn, which will inform and improve the chances of success going forward as SpaceX continues to rapidly advance Starship development.”
This image provided by SpaceX shows a rainbow in the sky behind the 50-foot-tall Starship spacecraft atop Starbase’s 230-foot-tall Super Heavy rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, April 10, 2023.
SPACEX/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
For this first flight test, SpaceX said it will not attempt a Starship vertical landing or a booster capture.
If successful, Starship and its rocket, which is called Super Heavy, will take off and ignite 33 Raptor engines at the same time. About eight minutes after launch, Super Heavy will crash into the Gulf of Mexico.
Meanwhile, the spacecraft will travel about 150 miles — partially around Earth — then crash into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii about 90 minutes after launch.
After the valve issue was discovered Monday, SpaceX said the attempted launch would be turned into a wet dress rehearsal, meaning it would simulate each stage of the rocket launch, but without actually launching.
Problems are not uncommon during the preparation of a launch attempt. Last year, NASA had several failed attempts to get Artemis I off the ground before its successful launch on Nov. 16.
Faulty temperature sensors, liquid hydrogen leaks and the landfall of Hurricane Ian contributed to delays. In the end, however, the spacecraft managed to spend 25.5 days in space and complete a 1.4 million-mile trip around the moon before crashing on Dec. 11.
Starship was ultimately designed to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights. Meanwhile, NASA recently announced the four astronauts who will take their first steps on the moon by 2025.
Meredith Deliso and Gina Sunseri of ABC News contributed to this report.
