SpaceX postpones Starship spacecraft launch

SpaceX will not attempt to launch its Starship spacecraft on Monday, CEO and founder Elon Musk tweeted.

“The FAA inspector couldn’t reach Starbase in time for launch (Monday),” Must tweeted. “Postponed to no earlier than (Tuesday).”

A potential time for the eventual launch on Tuesday of SpaceX’s future Mars spacecraft has not been released.

SpaceX has plenty of goals when it takes its future spacecraft on 10-mile-high test flights from Texas, but as the company prepares to try again with a new prototype spacecraft, the goal of keeping the prototype shiny in one piece is important.

SpaceX hopes to complete its fourth high-altitude test flight from Boca Chica, Texas, using a new Starship spacecraft test vehicle. Serial number 11, or SN11, will become the last prototype subjected to the same test flight that destroyed three previous vehicles.

During the test flight, the shiny ball-shaped ship soars over 6 miles into the sky after taking off from the Texas coast, then descends horizontally over the Gulf of Mexico before straightening up just in time to land. This is the last part that previous Starship prototypes did not survive, at least for a very long time.

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Musk tweeted Friday that SpaceX is “doing its best to land and fully recover.”

“Fully recover” would mean that SN11 survives the landing and does not explode after landing, which happened after the last test.

Here’s a quick recap of Starship’s recent tests in Texas:

• Prior to the high altitude test flights, SpaceX performed a series of “jumps” with a shorter prototype of the spacecraft, also in Texas.

• In December, SpaceX performed its first high-altitude test flight of the Starship prototype called Serial No. 8, or SN8. While the takeoff and air descent went well, SN8 exploded during the landing attempt. Still, it was the first time the public could see what SpaceX is trying to accomplish with its futuristic spacecraft designed to travel to the moon and Mars. The first attempt was considered a success for SpaceX with what it achieved.

SpaceX has yet to announce the SN11 launch window, but plans to live-stream the test flight when that happens.

Stick with ClickOrlando.com/space for updates.