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Musk says that Starship will act more like an air diver than a plane.
SpaceX
Elon Musk rocket company could light up this week Falcon Heavy, the largest rocket currently in its stable, as well as its next generation Spatialship, designed to eventually bring passengers to Mars.
Static shots or "hold" of the two rockets could take place on Sunday for a prototype spacecraft and Monday, April 1 for Falcon Heavy, but it's not an April joke.
We have not seen Falcon Heavy in action since its successful demonstration flight in 2018 that sent The red Tesla from Musk to Mars, but SpaceX plans to use Heavy to launch payloads for paying customers for several months.
Look at this:
Watch SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket perform its first test …
1:31 p.m.
Now, after a few delays, a Falcon Heavy could launch the Arabsat 6A satellite into orbit from Florida's Kennedy Space Center as early as April 7th. This configuration of Falcon Heavy will consist of three "Block 5 "Falcon 9 rockets, the final version of the SpaceX rocket had to be reused up to 100 times. But first, Heavy must successfully undergo a static fire test, currently set for Monday.
While many people are distracted by a raptor in Texas, 27 Merlin 1D are hoping to get your attention in Florida.
KSC moves to critical support from 8:30 pm (March 31) to 8:30 pm (April 1), which means a deployment to 39A presumably Sunday, then a static fire on April 1st. pic.twitter.com/nXUtGIiKsJ
– Chris B – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) March 27, 2019
Meanwhile, Starship's single-engine "hopper" prototype was tested until the tests were fired at the company's test facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Musk said the first test would not see the rocket high, if at all, but the FAA still announced the closure of the region's airspace from Monday to Thursday. The same closure will also be in effect this Sunday and Monday.
Over the past few weeks, many gas release periods from the Starship prototype have been observed on webcams pointing to the large bright cone. Local media reported that SpaceX was testing the fuel tanks of the rocket and other systems for the main event.
The company itself has been silent about exactly what is going on in Boca Chica. SpaceX but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anyway, the odds are pretty good that we are seeing a fire under a large SpaceX rocket or another over the next few days.
Originally published on March 29th.
Updated March 31: Adds new test times.
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