New photos show that the spaceship is ready for the first test flight.
The company wrote on the social media site that it was testing full stack propellant load at its South Texas facility. The tallest launch vehicle ever built was depicted in the post.
A positive result from a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration environmental review is needed before the first orbital test flight can be attempted.
The review has been delayed several times and is now expected to come out no earlier than March 28 due to increased consultations and large number of public comments.
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This year, the Starship will reach Mars.
Starship full stack propellant load testing at Starbase pic.twitter.com/CFW7E51qdIMarch 18, 2022
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Super Heavy is a giant first-stage booster that is part of Starship. The system is being developed to take people and cargo to distant destinations.
Booster 4 and Ship 20 have been stacked before. Earlier this year, the duo was assembled to perform fit checks and other procedures.
The testing phase of Starship has attracted attention. The system will be used to help land astronauts on the moon.
The initial crewed lunar lander was delayed by seven months due to a now-overturned legal protest by Blue Origin. The inspector general of NASA says that a crewed moon landing is likely to happen in 2026, a year later than the agency has been targeting.
The Polaris Program is a privately funded series of space missions organized by a billionaire. The founder of Shift4 is best known for commanding the Inspiration4 mission to Earth.
An independently funded billionaire mission from Yusaku Maezawa is scheduled to use a Starship to fly nine people around the moon. Last year, Maezawa said that he hopes to do that flight in 2023. There is no official word on whether the target launch date has been affected by the FAA review.
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