SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – Elon Musk’s SpaceX expected Monday to launch its mighty Starship rocket into space for the primary time from a non-public facility in Texas along the Gulf Coast. But with lower than quarter-hour left on the countdown, the corporate announced a “scrub”, postponing the launch by at the very least 48 hours.
The Starship orbital launch is the culmination of several years of regulatory work and technological tests. The corporate’s management has repeatedly emphasized the experimental nature of the launch. SpaceX hoped to conduct the primary orbital launch of a spacecraft as early as summer 2021, but development delays and FAA approval pushed back the schedule.
The spacecraft is designed to carry cargo and other people beyond Earth and is central to NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon. Two years ago, SpaceX won an almost $3 billion contract from NASA to use the spacecraft as a crewed lunar lander. This is able to see Starship used as a part of NASA’s Artemis lunar program, delivering astronauts to the lunar surface from the agency’s SLS rocket and Orion capsule.
Below are live updates from South Texas.