IFTNews, March 22 :SpaceX' manned space mission under preparation will take another leap forward, with the company expected to make its first interstellar spacecraft orbit in May. The company's CEO Elon Musk confirmed this timeline,
Musk said on Twitter that the plan is to allow the company to control about 65 percent of the global launch mass this year. According to him, other demand growth could push this market share up to around 70 percent, with about 800 tons of payloads being sent into space this year.
The SpaceX team has been developing Starship rockets capable of sending large numbers of people and cargo into space. By design, Starship is reusable and, as such, one of the most sustainable alternatives on the market today.
Starship and its super-heavy boosters are powered by the company's uniquely designed Raptor series engines. By April, as many as 39 of these engines will be able to fly, and the company will need at most a month to complete all the necessary integrations.
"The orbital flight of the first starship will use Raptor 2 engines because they are more capable and reliable. With 230 tons or 500k pounds of thrust," Musk tweeted, "we're going to build 39 flight-ready engines next month and spend another month integrating, so hopefully we'll have orbital flight tests in May." ”
The orbital flight of the first starship will use Raptor 2 engines because they are more capable and reliable. 230 tons or 500k pounds of thrust at sea level.
This isn't the first time SpaceX has set a timeline for the launch of a Starship rocket. While some high-altitude flight tests have been completed in the past, spaceflight has typically slowed down due to research and development issues and delays in regulatory approvals.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still conducting environmental impact assessments (EIA) and other inspections to determine whether SpaceX will conduct a planned orbital flight in May. The FAA is scheduled to complete the assessment on March 28, and delays that depend on regulatory regulations are expected to be eliminated if approved, CNBC reported.
In addition to Space Exploration Technologies, other space companies, including Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Holdings (NYSE: SPCE), have also made significant strides in competing for dominance in the dominance of leading companies that take humans into space or beyond.