Donald Trump Presents SpaceX Rocket Launch In Texas, Shows Closeness To Elon Musk

Donald Trump, scheduled to attend SpaceX rocket launches at Boca Chica, Texas (photo: x @realDonaldTrump)

JAKARTA The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, is scheduled to attend the launch of a SpaceX rocket in Boca Chica, Texas, on Tuesday local time, November 19. Trump's presence shows his close relationship with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, who is also the richest person in the world.

A trusted source confirmed Trump's travel plans after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued temporary flight restrictions for the "Vpton Movement" in Brownsville, Texas, on Monday, November 18. This policy is usually implemented ahead of the visit of important figures.

At the same time, flight restrictions around Trump's property in Palm Beach, Florida, will be temporarily lifted during his visit to Texas. However, Trump's transition team has yet to comment on the plan.

The closeness between Trump and Musk has been in the spotlight, especially after Musk was frequently seen in Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private club at Palm Beach. Musk, who is also Tesla CEO, is known to have been Trump's close adviser during his transition to the White House process.

The launch, which Trump will attend, is the sixth test flight for Starship, SpaceX's newest generation rocket system. This rocket is at the heart of Musk's ambition to bring humans and cargo to Mars.

NASA plans to use Starship to land humans on the Moon in the Artemis program that will take place this decade. Under Trump's leadership, the program is expected to further involve Mars' mission, which is in line with Musk's cosmic vision.

In this launch, SpaceX again tried innovative techniques to capture the first stage of a 71-meter "Super Heavy" rocket using a large arm mounted on the launch tower. This technique caught Trump's attention when he was first tested by SpaceX last October.

This launch is an important moment, not only for SpaceX but also for the strategic relationship between two big figures, Trump and Musk, who seem to be increasingly influential in future ambitious projects.