SpaceX's Huge Starship Rocket Could Launch as Early as Next Month, NASA Says

A NASA official said that the first test flight of the rocket could take place in December.

Mark Kirasich, a senior NASA official overseeing the development of the Artemis program, told the NASA Advisory Council on Monday that a test flight may take place early next month. Four major flights are tracked by us. Kirasich said that the first one would be in December.

The launch vehicle is designed to go to Earth, the Moon, and perhaps even Mars. Musk suggested that the rocket might take off in November.

We have learned not to listen to Musk. After getting the go-ahead from the FAA for a controversial site expansion at the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, Musk claimed that Starship would be ready for its first flight in July.

The upper stage Starship 24 prototype is currently being tested at the Star base facility. The Super Heavy booster and the spaceship are both powered by the next- generation of Raptor engines, which are designed to be fully re-usable.

A seven-engine static fire test was done by the company. After the prototype was rolled back to the factory, it was upgraded to make it ready for flight. In October, Starship was rolled back onto the pads.

The test flight involves the liftoff of a rocket and a return to Earth. The Super Heavy booster will come down in the Gulf of Mexico, but the upper stage will splash down in Hawaii. There is a chance that the booster could fly back and try to land at the launch pad.