Image: SpaceX
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is targeting April 10 for the Starship orbital test flight, according to a Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Operations Plan Advisory released recently.
The launch is set for no earlier than 8:10 AM CDT (13:10 UTC). However, it’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that the launch license has been issued yet, says Thomas Burghardt from NASASpaceflight.
Backup launch dates according to the document indicate April 11 and 12.
According to an FAA Operations Plan Advisory released just now, the Starship orbital test flight is targeting Monday, April 10, no earlier than 8:10 AM CDT (13:10 UTC).
Note: this does not mean that the launch license has been issued.https://t.co/RGVYfHbCMT pic.twitter.com/jrLFTKhaZL
— Thomas Burghardt (@TGMetsFan98) April 4, 2023
Last month, Musk teased a Starship launch might take place on April 20. It appears the first orbital Starship launch is likely pegged for this month.
Adding credence to the April 10 Starship launch date is the fact Musk “liked” a tweet from @thePrimalSpace earlier today regarding that launch date. The account @elon_alerts tracks every like and tweet from Musk.
Starship is a fully reusable spacecraft designed and manufactured by SpaceX, intended to transport both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship has yet to attempt its first orbital launch and despite news of the April 10 date, no FAA launch license has been issued yet, so that means delays could be still possible.
“For the SpaceX Starship launch attempt, 4/10 is possible, I’m told. The FAA safety evaluation is complete, the legal review is underway but there is an environmental issue to close out. That may or may not get resolved by Monday but it sounds like the license is almost there,” said Christian Davenport from the Washington Post on Tuesday afternoon.
For the SpaceX Starship launch attempt, 4/10 is possible, I’m told. The FAA safety evaluation is complete, the legal review is underway but there is an environmental issue to close out. That may or may not get resolved by Monday but it sounds like the license is almost there.
— Christian Davenport (@wapodavenport) April 4, 2023
