SpaceX is just hours away from attempting the first orbital flight of the Starship, the most powerful rocket ever made.
The launch window for the uncrewed test flight, which will lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, opens at 7 a.m. local time (5 a.m. PT).
But in a Spaces session on Twitter on Sunday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk would only say that it “might” launch tomorrow, adding that if the SpaceX team spots anything that gives it concern, it will postpone liftoff.
“This is not like, you know, some sort of train leaving the station at precisely like 9:03 a.m. or something like that,” Musk said.
The SpaceX chief added that the first-stage Super Heavy booster has 33 Raptor engines, which will create a record-breaking 17 million pounds of thrust at launch, and so “if any one of them goes wrong, it’s like having a box of grenades. You know, really big grenades.”
Musk went so far as to say that “probably tomorrow will not be successful — if by successful one means reaching orbit.”
The entire mission should last around 90 minutes. If it goes to plan, the upper-stage Starship spacecraft will separate from the Super Heavy booster several minutes into the flight. The booster will then come down off the coast of Hawaii, while the Starship will attempt to reach orbit. Again, if the flight proceeds as hoped, the Starship will come down in the Gulf of Mexico following its orbital trip.
The 395-feet-tall (120 meters) Starship is a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying both crew and cargo to Earth orbit. When it’s ready, it’s likely to be used for missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
Musk and his team will be ecstatic if the mission proceeds perfectly, but won’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t. Whatever happens, the event will provide engineers with plenty of useful data so that it can refine the design of the vehicle and its flight systems.
How to watch
A live webcast of the flight test will begin around 45 minutes before liftoff. You can watch it using the video player at the top of this page or by visiting SpaceX’s YouTube channel, which will carry the same feed.
“As is the case with all developmental testing, this schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to stay tuned to our social media channels for updates,” SpaceX said.
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