SpaceX’s Starship will launch on April 20th
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SpaceX is preparing to launch its first Starship rocket from its Starbase launch facility in Texas. After the April 17th launch attempt was canceled, Elon Musk’s spaceflight company is gearing up for another of her April 20th attempts. If successful, Starship will be the largest and most powerful rocket to the skies ever.
The first launch attempt was canceled just minutes before launch after a valve in one of the rocket’s tanks froze, preventing it from properly pressurizing. The delay has the added bonus of placing the new launch attempt on a date that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made the punchline of many jokes for its association with cannabis.
A spacecraft has two components. A super-heavy booster containing 33 engines that blasts rockets off the ground, and a small crew his capsule on top of the booster, the Starship. Minutes after launch, Super Heavy is designed to detach and drop into the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship launches him into space for 90 minutes and back.
This first flight will not take Starship into orbit, but an orbital flight and at least one manned flight are planned later this year. Ultimately, the Starship is intended to carry astronauts to the Moon and possibly Mars someday.
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