Elon Musk will temporarily set aside his role as a U.S. Federal Government spending reducer on Monday (3) to focus on his work as an aerospace entrepreneur.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket will undergo another test flight following the recent explosion during its previous flight over the Caribbean.
The launch is scheduled to occur at 5:30 pm local time from the SpaceX site in Boca Chica, Texas, with the event live-streamed online.
The Starship, towering at 123 meters tall, surpasses the Statue of Liberty by approximately 30 meters and is engineered for reusable landings. It symbolizes Elon Musk’s aspiration and SpaceX’s goal of transporting humans to Mars.
Nasa anticipates a revised rocket for its Artemis initiative, which seeks to return astronauts to the moon.
The FAA halted SpaceX launches following a failed test on January 16 during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The FAA halted the penalty on Friday while still investigating the incident.
Musk criticized the FAA for being inflexible on environmental and security issues regarding SpaceX during Biden’s presidency.
Now, being one of President Donald Trump’s most trusted advisors, he is viewed skeptically due to his ability to impact the regulatory agencies that supervise their businesses.
The mission will take a little over an hour and will involve another try at landing the lower part of the Starship with the launch tower’s lashing arms, a task that SpaceX has accomplished twice before.
SpaceX’s objective is to eventually retrieve the rocket’s upper stage, but currently, the aim is to land this section of the spacecraft on the western coast of Australia.
SpaceX must demonstrate the rocket’s readiness for flight and its safety for manned missions in order to conduct upcoming space expeditions.
The company must also conduct the intricate space refueling operation with other Starship spacecraft to enable long-distance journeys.