SpaceX Gets Nod For First Orbital Test Flight of Starship
- Avani Pandit
- Apr 15, 2023
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 30, 2023
Test Launch is scheduled for April 17, Monday, 5:30 pm IST
On April 14, 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Orbital launch license for Starship - SpaceX’s super heavy-lift launch vehicle said to be the largest and most powerful ever developed with a projected 150 metric tons (330,000 pounds) of payload capacity in a fully reusable configuration. The license is valid for a period of five years. SpaceX plans to use the Starship for various purposes such as satellite deployment, space tourism and interplanetary spaceflight.
As of now, they have scheduled the test launch on April 17, Monday at 7:00 am CDT (1200 GMT/ 5:30 pm IST) on SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas. The launch window will last for 150 minutes. The entire flight will take around 90 minutes, starting at Starbase, flying east over the Gulf of Mexico and between the Straits of Florida, and finishing off near Hawaii.
Starship consists of a huge first-stage booster, called Super Heavy, and an upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship. Together they stand at approximately 400 ft. Both are designed to be fully reusable. Starship will play a vital role in space transportation to Moon, Mars and beyond. You can catch the live webcast of the flight test on the SpaceX youtube channel at 4:45 pm IST, 45 minutes before the launch window.
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