Musk reveals first company update on the mission in two years
A presentation made by space mogul Elon Musk on Thursday indicated that Starship, the rocket developed by SpaceX, is nearly complete.
The 2021 Time ‘Person of The Year’ hoped that Starship could launch in a couple of months, as he indirectly appealed to the FAA for their rapid approval. In case the FAA ordered further investigations, the mission would be delayed further, with flight operations being shifted to a new launchpad under construction at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
The technical aspects of the rocket are almost ready, and most of the schedule lies on the Federal Aviation Authority’s scrutiny and permission for the mission. The licensing authority will only give the go-ahead after a thorough environmental analysis, which is estimated to be completed by March.
If the schedule moves according to plan, Musk stated that the hardware development and legal preparation for the launch to orbit would conclude at approximately the same time this year.
The SpaceX R&D facility in Boca Chica, Texas, has been bustling with activity. Nonetheless, during the first company update on the process in two years, Musk didn’t divulge much.
“There are a lot of additional customers that will want to use Starship [but] I don’t want to steal their thunder; they’re going to make their own announcements”
the entrepreneur stated.
He went into the technical details of the engineering, which no doubt, were marveled at by fans. The presentation also envisioned a crewed space expedition to Mars.
Edited by: Mahi Gupta
Published by: Vishakha Verma
