Musk says Starship will act more like a sky diver than an airplane.
SpaceX
This week, Elon Musk's rocket company could light up Falcon Heavy, the biggest rocket currently in its stable, as well as its next-generation Starship, designed to eventually take passengers to Mars.
So-called static or "hold down" test firings of both rockets could take place as soon as Sunday for a Starship prototype and Monday, April 1 for Falcon Heavy, but it's no April Fools' joke.
We haven't seen Falcon Heavy in action since its successful demonstration flight in 2018 that sent Musk's red Tesla toward Mars, but SpaceX has been planning to use Heavy to launch payloads for paying customers for several months now.
Now playing: Watch this: Watch SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket make its first test…
13:31
Now, after some delays, a Falcon Heavy could launch communications satellite Arabsat 6A into orbit from Florida's Kennedy Space Center as soon as April 7. This configuration of Falcon Heavy will be made up of three "Block 5" Falcon 9 rockets, the final version of the SpaceX workhorse rocket meant to be reused up to 100 times. But first Heavy needs to undergo a successful static fire test, currently set for Monday.
While a lot of people are distracted by a Raptor in Texas, 27 Merlin 1Ds are hoping to attract your attention in Florida.
KSC goes into Critical Support from 20:30 Local (March 31) to 20:30 Local (April 1), meaning rollout to 39A likely on Sunday and then Static Fire on April 1. pic.twitter.com/nXUtGIiKsJ
— Chris B – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) March 27, 2019
Meanwhile, the single-engine "hopper" prototype of Starship has been working up to a test firing at the company's test facility at Boca Chica, Texas. Musk has said the first test won't see the rocket get very high oRead More – Source
Musk says Starship will act more like a sky diver than an airplane.
SpaceX
This week, Elon Musk's rocket company could light up Falcon Heavy, the biggest rocket currently in its stable, as well as its next-generation Starship, designed to eventually take passengers to Mars.
So-called static or "hold down" test firings of both rockets could take place as soon as Sunday for a Starship prototype and Monday, April 1 for Falcon Heavy, but it's no April Fools' joke.
We haven't seen Falcon Heavy in action since its successful demonstration flight in 2018 that sent Musk's red Tesla toward Mars, but SpaceX has been planning to use Heavy to launch payloads for paying customers for several months now.
Now playing: Watch this: Watch SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket make its first test…
13:31
Now, after some delays, a Falcon Heavy could launch communications satellite Arabsat 6A into orbit from Florida's Kennedy Space Center as soon as April 7. This configuration of Falcon Heavy will be made up of three "Block 5" Falcon 9 rockets, the final version of the SpaceX workhorse rocket meant to be reused up to 100 times. But first Heavy needs to undergo a successful static fire test, currently set for Monday.
While a lot of people are distracted by a Raptor in Texas, 27 Merlin 1Ds are hoping to attract your attention in Florida.
KSC goes into Critical Support from 20:30 Local (March 31) to 20:30 Local (April 1), meaning rollout to 39A likely on Sunday and then Static Fire on April 1. pic.twitter.com/nXUtGIiKsJ
— Chris B – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) March 27, 2019
Meanwhile, the single-engine "hopper" prototype of Starship has been working up to a test firing at the company's test facility at Boca Chica, Texas. Musk has said the first test won't see the rocket get very high oRead More – Source
