"USA Today" reported on the 11th that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk officially announced in Florida, USA, that the first orbital flight of the starship developed by his company - the world's most powerful rocket - will be carried out as soon as March. Although he expects the orbital flight to fail, he believes that as long as it does not give up, the company's starship will definitely reach the designated orbit by the end of this year.
On the 11th, Musk held a press conference at SpaceX's space base in Texas. Standing next to the 390-foot rocket, he officially revealed the news. He said to all those who aspire to space: "Let's make this a reality!"
(Elon Musk)
Musk said: "Maybe some people think this is really crazy. Others will find it hard to believe that this is true. But that's the way it is, it's true. ”
NASA plans to use the fully reusable Starship to send astronauts to the moon as early as 2025. Musk, meanwhile, hopes to deploy a fleet of starships to build a city on Mars while transporting equipment and personnel using SpaceX's starships.
Currently, the initial interstellar flight will carry SpaceX's Internet satellites into orbit, which is known as StarChain.
Musk said: "There may be some obstacles before SpaceX's starship officially goes on a manned flight, but we hope to solve these problems with satellite missions and test missions." ”
SpaceX's Super Heavy First Stage booster has not yet been launched. However, the bullet-shaped steel starship launched and landed on its own in May 2021. At the time the spacecraft flew to an altitude of 6 miles (about 9.6 kilometers).
SpaceX is awaiting approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration before proceeding to Starship's next phase of mission: into orbit. Musk said he hopes to get approval in March this year, when Starship should also be ready to fly. He added that this would make it roll out in the coming months.
Musk said that if the FEDERAL Aviation Administration seeks more information about the potential environmental impact, the Starship's launch site could be transferred to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Musk said that if this happens, it will delay the first orbital launch of starship for more than half a year.
In addition to Cape Canaveral in Florida and the southern tip of Texas near Boca Chica, Starship can also be launched from floating ocean platforms anywhere in the world, he said.
Musk estimates that the launch of a starship could end up costing less than $10 million (about 67 million yuan). He called the price "ridiculously low."
(SpaceX's starship to launch in March)
In Starship's passenger registration process, there is already a private customer, who is a Japanese entrepreneur. He bought a seat for a flight around the moon and plans to fly with 12 artists. Musk hinted that others are also interested in buying travel spots, and said he would release more news about it.
So far, SpaceX has relied on small Falcon rockets to launch satellites, astronauts and cargo for NASA to the International Space Station. In September 2021, a billionaire bought SpaceX's first private starship. Another customer who bought a private starship will show up at the end of March, and this buyer will set off for the space station with three others, each of whom will pay $55 million (about 350 million yuan).
Correspondent Asay