A key SpaceX Starship Super Heavy rocket launch test now is likely to take place later this month rather than sometime this week, the space company's CEO Elon Musk said on Monday, Trend reports citing Reuters.
SpaceX envisions Starship as a fully reusable transportation system to carry astronauts and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond. The rocket is scheduled to lift off from SpaceX's Starbase facilities at Boca Chica in South Texas in the first launch of the company's fully stacked 394-foot (120-meter) tall Starship rocket system. Fully stacked means all its parts are assembled, with the upper stage sitting atop the booster.
"Starship launch trending towards near the end of third week of April," Musk wrote on Twitter a day after stating that it was ready for launch and "awaiting regulatory approval."
A planning notice posted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 4 said the launch's primary expected date was for Monday, but listed backup dates as Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Musk said last week Starship would be ready to launch this week.