AP reported that the FAA granted the license on November 15, saying SpaceX met safety, environmental and other requirements to launch the Starship. Billionaire Elon Musk's company plans to launch the spacecraft on a Super Heavy rocket on the morning of November 17 (US time) from the Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas.
Starship launched in April
In April, the Super Heavy rocket carrying the Starship spacecraft lifted off from a launch pad in southern Texas. After nearly four minutes, the rocket and spacecraft exploded when they were supposed to separate.
SpaceX has made dozens of improvements to the 400-foot-tall rocket and to the launch pad, including a larger basin. Billionaire Elon Musk said in October that testing the new system was the riskiest part and that he didn’t want to set expectations too high.
Giant Starship rocket explodes, why is SpaceX still optimistic?
A month ago, the FAA completed its safety review of the upcoming Starship launch and needed more time for environmental testing. No one was injured during the April launch, but the launch pad was severely damaged when the rocket’s 33 engines ignited simultaneously.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service later reported that concrete blocks, steel fragments and other objects were thrown hundreds of meters from the launch pad. Dust from the concrete was also blown up to 10 kilometers.
Starship spacecraft with Super Heavy booster ready at launch pad in Texas on November 15
The upcoming launch is expected to take about an hour and a half and make nearly one orbit around the Earth. The spacecraft will fly east, crossing the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans before splashing down near Hawaii.
SpaceX has a $3 billion contract with NASA to send astronauts to the surface of the moon as early as 2025 using Starship, a spacecraft and rocket designed to be fully reusable.
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