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SpaceX will again launch its huge Starship vehicle for an orbital test flight in about 2 months time, company founder and CEO Elon Musk has said.
On Twitter Musk was requested for an update on Starship. The next test would be in "6 to 8 weeks", the SpaceX chief replied. A similar timeline was laid out by Musk in late April, where on Twitter Spaces he stated that the launch pad and the next Starship vehicle should be ready to launch in six to eight weeks. On April 20, the first flight test of SpaceX's fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket, built to take humanity to the Moon, Mars and beyond, lifted off successfully. Shortly after, it exploded and failed to reach orbit. However, the blast meant the test flight was successful, according to the company. Starship consists of a huge first-stage booster, called Super Heavy, and an upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship. The billionaire entrepreneur had, previously, said that he hopes to build an entire fleet of Starship rockets in order to transport people and cargo across the Solar System. SpaceX has already signed a multi-billion dollar deal with NASA to use Starship for its Artemis programme, which aims to return humans to the Moon within the next few years. Meanwhile, the rocket launch has come under the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) scanner for reportedly spreading plumes of potentially hazardous debris endangering human lives as well as habitats of animals. This means that before Starship's next launch, it would need the regulator's clean chit that the rocket will not affect public safety. A slew of environmental groups have also sued the FAA for failing to address dangers of SpaceX's Starship rocket launch, which can harm "crucial habitats, putting imperilled wildlife at great risk and harming community interests". --IANS rvt/shb/ ( 316 Words) 2023-06-15-12:34:03 (IANS)
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