SpaceX Delays Test Launch of Starship Super Heavy Rocket Until End of April

Starship Super Heavy launch is likely to take place later this month. (photo: twitter @spacex)

JAKARTA - The key test launch of the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy rocket is more likely to take place later this month than this week, said space company CEO Elon Musk on Monday, April 10.

SpaceX views the Starship as a fully reusable transportation system to carry astronauts and cargo into orbit of Earth, the moon, Mars and beyond. The rocket is slated to lift off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, South Texas, in the first launch of the fully assembled 394-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket system. Fully mounted means all the pieces are assembled, with the top stage sitting on top of the amplifier.

"Starship launch trending towards near the end of third week of April," Musk wrote on Twitter a day after stating that the rocket was ready to launch and "pending regulatory approval."

A planning notice posted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 4 states that the main launch date is scheduled for Monday, but lists backup dates as Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Musk said last week that Starship would be ready to launch this week.

The FAA on Monday issued a revision notice saying the launch could take place on April 17.

SpaceX still has to obtain a launch license from the FAA for what is expected to be its first orbital flight test from Boca Chica. One key remaining hurdle is the completion of a federal environmental compliance review.

The Starship rocket system consists of a Starship rocket sitting on a "Super Heavy" first stage booster with 33 rocket engines. The plan is to launch the Starship's second stage in space, where it will complete a full Earth orbit before re-entering the atmosphere and crashing off the coast of Hawaii. The plan is also to land the Super Heavy booster in Texas near the launch site.