Musk confirms that the launch of the SpaceX Starship rocket will be delayed this month

WASHINGTON: A key SpaceX Starship Super Heavy rocket launch test is likely to take place later this month rather than sometime this week, the space company’s CEO Elon Musk said on Monday.

SpaceX completely reimagines Starship as a reusable transportation system for transporting astronauts and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond. The rocket is scheduled to lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase facilities in Boca Chica, South Texas, as the company’s fully stacked 394-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket system launches for the first time. Fully stacked means that all its parts are assembled, and the upper stage sits on top of the amplifier.

“Starship launch is heading towards the end of the third week of April,” Musk wrote on Twitter, a day after saying it was ready for launch and “pending regulatory approval.”

A planning notice sent by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 4 stated that the primary expected launch date was Monday, but alternate dates were listed as Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Musk said last week that Starship would be ready for launch this week.

The FAA issued a revised statement on Monday that said the launch could now take place on April 17.

SpaceX has yet to receive a FAA launch permit for what will be its first orbital plane from Boca Chica. One key hurdle remains – a federal environmental compliance review.

The Starship rocket system consists of a Starship rocket sitting atop a “Super Heavy” first stage booster with 33 rocket engines. The plan is to send Starship’s second stage into space, where it would complete a full orbit of Earth before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down on the coast of Hawaii. The plan would also be for the Super Heavy booster to land in Texas near the launch site.

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