Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX has earned the US Federal Aviation Administration license to launch the second test flight of its next-generation Starship and heavy-lift rocket from Texas.
According to the SpaceX, the Starship rocket will be launched on Friday. SpaceX added that a two-hour launch window will open at 7 am Central Time (6:30 pm IST) and locals may hear a "loud noise" during the rocket's ascent toward space.
Walter Isaacson, author of the book Elon Musk's biography wrote, "Starship is the most powerful rocket ever made. It’s designed to carry 100 people to Mars. It just received approvals and is scheduled to launch this Friday at 8 am ET". The liftoff will occur from Starbase, a SpaceX facility in South Texas.
SpaceX's first attempt to send Starship to space was in April when the rocket exploded mid-air four minutes after liftoff.
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Starship successfully took off from its Texas launchpad but suffered multiple engine failures as it ascended into the sky. The rocket then failed to separate as planned and started spinning out of control, prompting SpaceX to intentionally blow it up.
Officials with the US Fish and Wildlife Service visited the launch site and privately expressed disbelief at the level of damage.
To grant the new Starship launch license, the FWS conducted a formal review of the upgrades SpaceX made to its launch site, with much of the focus centered on the water deluge system.
Environmental groups sued the FAA in May, saying the agency hastily approved SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility.
Starship — the largest and most powerful rocket ever developed — is key to Musk’s ambitions of carrying payloads and people to distant destinations like the moon and Mars.
The FAA oversaw a mishap investigation of the launch, which the agency closed in September. In its final investigation report, the FAA called on SpaceX to make 63 corrective actions designed to prevent similar failures and damage from happening during future Starship launches.
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