Starship V3 Test Launch Delayed to May

JAKARTA - SpaceX owner Elon Musk confirmed that the test flight of the Starship V3 rocket would be postponed until May. In fact, this rocket was previously scheduled to take off in April.

Musk also estimated that the launch would be carried out in the next four to six weeks. This launch has been delayed for months because integrating the new, upgraded system takes quite some time.

Although testing is running slower, it is still being done because SpaceX is trying to ensure that the vehicle is more reliable and meets NASA's strict standards for lunar landing missions.

The improvement of technology on this latest generation rocket is crucial, especially for the Artemis program initiated by NASA. Starship is designed as a fully reusable transport system to transport large-scale payloads.

The company last tested in October last year as the eleventh trial. Compared to the previous Falcon rocket, Starship has a much larger cargo and crew carrying capacity.

In his long-term vision, Musk wants to make Starship the main means of transportation to the planet Mars. The cargo area at the top of the rocket will be equipped with about 40 cabins to accommodate space explorers.

Each cabin is predicted to be able to accommodate two to three people for comfort during long interplanetary journeys. With this configuration, one Starship unit is expected to carry approximately 100 people in one flight.

NASA has provided support of 135 million US dollars (Rp. 2.2 trillion) for the development of this lander design. This large investment is given so that Starship can become the best manned lander on the moon's surface.