Benzinga - SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Thursday said that Starship‘s first launch attempt will be at the end of the third week of April.
What Happened: SpaceX will be ready to launch in a few weeks, Elon Musk said in a Twitter reply. Once SpaceX is ready, Starship will need FAA license approval to undertake its first launch attempt.
“Assuming that takes a few weeks, [the] first launch attempt will be near [the] end of [the] third week of April, aka …,” Musk responded to a tweet.
Some Twitter users interpreted Musk’s unfinished sentence as April 20, which when written as a date would be “4/20,” possibly referring to the unofficial holiday celebrated by marijuana users.
SpaceX will be ready to launch Starship in a few weeks, then launch timing depends on FAA license approval.Assuming that takes a few weeks, first launch attempt will be near end of third week of April, aka …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2023
Earlier in February, Musk had predicted that the much-awaited launch will be in March. “If [the] remaining tests go well, we will attempt a Starship launch next month,” Musk said on Twitter.
Why Is It Important: Starship, touted to be “the biggest rocket ever“, is a fully reusable transportation system aimed at carrying both crew and cargo to “Earth’s orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.”
In a Morgan Stanley conference last week, Musk said that the Starship has a 50% chance of reaching orbit. More Starships are being made at the South Texas facility dubbed Starship, Musk added.
“Success is far from certain, but excitement is guaranteed,” Musk tweeted about Starship’s launch last month.
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