Elon Musk says SpaceX is ready and only awaiting approval from the FAA
Next April could be a very special moment for the aerospace world and especially for SpaceX and Elon Musk’s big goal of being able to go to Mars.
Starship is the largest manned spacecraft in history and this spacecraft is the hope to achieve this goal that many see as impossible but we could say that we are getting closer and closer to achieving it.
Starship has already been performing several flight tests, from take-offs, small flights and landings, and even recently the static ignition of its 33 Raptor engines, which proved that SpaceX and Starship are ready for the next step.
That step will be to make the first orbital flight with Starship and return it safely to Earth. That test flight could come as early as 20 April 2023, as Elon Musk indicated in response to tweets on Twitter, although he qualifies that it will depend largely on whether the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) authorises it.
This test flight will undoubtedly compromise Starship’s structure, and although Elon Musk is confident that it will be a success, there is also a strong possibility that the spacecraft could explode at critical moments, such as at take-off or during ascent, when the spacecraft will reach high speed until it ascends into space.
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