SpaceX Prepares For A Test Launch In February By Stacking A Powerful Super Heavy Rocket

Before its first test flight, SpaceX released a video of their newest spacecraft being stacked on the launch pad. The Starship spacecraft is positioned atop the powerful Super Heavy booster in the video (below), which was shot at SpaceX's Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated on Sunday that the test flight might happen as early as next month despite numerous setbacks. Musk wrote in a tweet that "we have a real shot at late February" and that a launch attempt in March "appears highly likely." Also Read: SpaceX's Starbase Installation Is Seen By An ISS Astronaut  The Super Heavy will launch with a thrust of 17 million pounds, making it the most powerful rocket ever to take flight. NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), which launched for the first time in November as part of the Artemis I mission that delivered an unmanned Orion capsule to the moon, currently holds the record. This system generated 8.8 million pounds of thrust when it took off. Photo Credit: Space.com The Saturn V rocket, which launched the Apollo men into the moon fifty years ago and had a thrust capacity of about 7.6 million pounds, is one of the more potent rockets.

Ship 24 stacked on Super Heavy Booster 7 at Starbase in Texas pic.twitter.com/hLcghfq349

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 10, 2023

The 394-foot-tall Super Heavy and Starship are intended for crewed trips to Mars and the moon by SpaceX. Both the Super Heavy and Starship have been intended to fly more than once, allowing SpaceX to reduce costs while increasing launch frequency. This is similar to how SpaceX is able to reuse the first stage of its dependable Falcon 9 rocket. However, both components will crash into the Pacific Ocean on the upcoming test flight. A modified version of the Starship spacecraft will be used by SpaceX as part of its current plan to land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon in the upcoming years during the eagerly awaited Artemis III mission. SpaceX is one of many commercial companies collaborating with NASA on its Artemis space exploration program. Photo Credit: Reuters Following the purchase of nine seats for the dearMoon mission by a Japanese billionaire entrepreneur, the Super Heavy and Starship is also scheduled to carry out the first ever all-civilian moon flyby. The ambitious mission has not yet been given a specific start date.