BROWNSVILLE (AP) — Private aerospace company SpaceX wants to test the most powerful rocket ever built on Monday (from 2 p.m. German time). In the long term, tech pioneer Elon Musk’s company wants to bring people and materials to the moon and Mars using a “starship.” The spacecraft is scheduled to take off from a test site in the US state of Texas with the help of a “Super Heavy Rocket” and will remain in the air for 90 minutes.
The “Starship” system is designed in such a way that the spaceship and rocket can be reused after returning to Earth. Overall, the system is 120 meters high and is said to be capable of carrying more than 100 tons of cargo – more than any other missile built to date. With the Starship spacecraft, NASA wants to bring astronauts to the Moon. SpaceX hopes to reach Mars one day. The missile is powered by 33 “Raptor” engines running on liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The system must be able to refuel in space.
During Monday’s test flight, the spacecraft and rocket stage should separate after about three minutes, and both parts should later disperse into the sea. Developers slow down forecasts in advance. “In a test like this, success is measured by how well we can learn,” SpaceX said in a statement. “Success is possible, excitement is guaranteed,” Musk wrote on Twitter.
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