The countdown begins for the launch of the world’s biggest rocket, sitting at 120m tall.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to launch its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket system for the first time from the Texas Starbase, USA.
The spaceflight system is designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth’s orbit, with the aim of carrying astronauts to the Moon and Mars – including use in NASA’s Artemis 3 mission to the Moon in 2025.
But today there is no crew and it won’t reach orbit. It instead marks the first fully integrated test flight of the rocket system after successful tests of the capsule and rocket individually.
This flight aims to demonstrate Super Heavy’s ‘soft-landing’ as it hovers above the ocean just before splashdown. It will also help SpaceX test and improve the system’s design ahead of missions like Artemis 3.
When is it launching?
Starship is scheduled to launch today, Monday 17 April at 2pm BST and 8am CT/9am ET/6am PT.
The SpaceX livestream will begin 45 mins before the expected launch time. Unlike last week’s JUICE launch, which had a one-second window during which the European Space Agency could attempt lift-off, SpaceX have 150 minutes to launch Starship and Super Heavy.
SpaceX could therefore wait to launch any time within the launch window (1pm to 3:30pm BST) depending on weather. The SpaceX Twitter Feed will share new timing updates if the launch time changes from the expected lift-off at 2pm BST.
In the US, the launch window is between:
- 7am to 9:30am CT (central – the local time at Starbase in Texas)
- 8am to 10:30am ET (eastern)
- 5am to 7:30am PT (pacific)
If the launch attempt is not successful today then SpaceX will try again on 18 April and 19 April.
How can I watch it?
Live coverage will begin at 1:15pm BST and 7:15am CT/8:15am ET/5:15am PT. It can be watched on the SpaceX YouTube channel or on the livestream below.
NASA Space Flight will also provide live coverage here.
What is SpaceX Starship?
Starship is a fully reusable spacecraft designed by Elon Musk’s space transportation company SpaceX. It is also capable of transportation on Earth and can complete any point-to-point journey in under an hour.
‘Starship’ also refers to the combined transportation system that consists of the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket. The “most powerful launch vehicle ever developed” according to SpaceX, Starship will be able to carry a crew of up to 100 and cargo with a payload capacity of 400 metric tonnes.
Starship will circle Earth (but not reach orbit) at an altitude of 234km before splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii.
The Super Heavy booster will return separately, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico – 32km from the launch site. Though Starship is fully reusable, for this mission SpaceX will not recover Starship or the Super Heavy booster.
Read more:
- JUICE mission to Jupiter launches successfully: Timeline and picture gallery
- NASA reveals Artemis 2 astronauts: Meet the most diverse crew to voyage to the Moon
- From solar sails to hyperspace: Here’s the future of interstellar travel