SpaceX is preparing to launch his mega rocket starship into orbit for the first time, kicking off Elon Musk’s ambitious plan to eventually build an independent human settlement on Mars. However, the first orbital launch could be a dud.
Musk has said that SpaceX is ready to launch Starship from Starbase, its facility in Boca Chica, Texas, once it receives a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration. But you are prepared for the worst: a hardware or software failure that could make everything go wrong.
In an interview at the Morgan Stanley Conference on March 7, quoted in a report by Business Insiderthe also CEO of Tesla and Twitter said that the rocket has a 1 in 2 chance of not reaching orbit: “I’m not saying it will reach orbit, but I guarantee excitement. It won’t be boring!”.
“I think it has, I don’t know, hopefully a 50% chance of reaching orbitMusk stated, adding that SpaceX is building multiple Starship rockets and that there is generally an 80 percent chance one of them will reach orbit this year.
Destined to explode?
If the story of Starship’s suborbital test flights tells us anything, it’s that failure to reach orbit could mean the rocket explodes. But everyone wants it to be successful.
If successful, the launch will be the world’s first fully reusable orbital rocket, setting the stage for SpaceX to revolutionize the orbital economy.
Starship and its 230-foot-tall Super Heavy booster are designed to land on Earth and fly again another day. That’s an important money-saving move, since SpaceX wouldn’t have to build a new upper stage for every rocket launch.
Starship is also designed to carry giant payloads into space, up to 250 metric tons of payload in orbit, up to 150 metric tons if the rocket is to be reused, according to the Starship website. SpaceX.