UPDATE: SpaceX has scrubbed the launch of the Starship Super Heavy due to a frozen pressure valve, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
No word yet on when the launch will be rescheduled.
BOCA CHICA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — SpaceX is preparing to launch the world’s biggest rocket Starship on Monday from the Boca Chica Beach launch site.
SpaceX says it has a 150-minute test window to launch Starship that will open at 7 a.m.
You’ll be able to watch the launch live right here on ValleyCentral.com and on CBS4 when it happens. We’ll have crews reporting about the launch from South Padre Island and a safe distance away from the launch site.
On Friday, Federal Aviation Administration issued SpaceX a vehicle operator license to launch the Starship vehicle from Boca Chica Beach in southern Cameron County.
“After a comprehensive license evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration and financial responsibility requirements. The license is valid for five years,” the FAA statement read.
On Sunday morning, SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted on Twitter, “Launch attempt tomorrow.”
This is the first time SpaceX launches a fully stacked Starship rocket on top of Super Heavy.
“Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable,” SpaceX said on its website. Starship is nearly 400-feet tall.
SpaceX said it will have a live webcast of the flight test beginning 45 minutes before liftoff.
Prior to the launch, an advisory from the FAA stated the primary launch date for Starship Super Heavy at the SpaceX Boca Chica launch site is April 17.
Musk says his aim for Starship is to one day carry people and cargo to the moon, Mars and beyond. The rocket consists of the 33-engine booster named Super Heavy and the carrier Starship, both of which are designed to be fully reusable.
This is the first major testing event since the static-fire test of the Super Heavy booster conducted on Feb. 9.
