Elon Musk says SpaceX could launch Starship SN10 this week

Life on Earth is truly special, there is no sign of life elsewhere in the Milky Way galaxy. SpaceX founder Elon Musk believes it is important to preserve consciousness in our Solar System. He founded the aerospace company to develop technologically advanced spacecraft that will enable humans to colonize Mars. Musk says SpaceX plans to build a fleet of one thousand Starships over the course of 10 years to launch one million people to the Red Planet by the year 2050. They would manufacture 100 Starships per year to take tons of cargo needed to maintain a sustainable colony on the rough Martian environment. His ambitious plan almost sounds like an idea straight out of a Sci-Fi novel – the company actually runs around-the-clock operations to make it a reality. Musk previously mentioned that there’s a 70% chance he will visit a Mars colony in his lifetime.

The Mars ambitions are taking shape at Boca Chica Beach, a little village located in the southernmost tip of Texas, where gigantic stainless-steel Starship prototypes are undergoing testing. Musk calls Boca Chica “The Gateway to Mars,” from where astronauts will liftoff towards the Red Planet. SpaceX is actively testing prototypes every month, the most recent launch was performed by Starship SN9 and ended with a failed landing attempt. Musk shared the next Starship vehicle, SN10, could conduct a high-altitude flight test soon, "Good chance of flying this week!" he wrote via Twitter. "Success on landing probability is ~60% this time," he said.

The Starship SN10 vehicle currently awaits at the launch pad where its undergoing preflight preparations. SN10 already passed a cryogenic proof test and must pass an engine ignition test before taking flight. On Monday, teams attempted to perform a static-firing of Starship SN10’s three Raptor engines but the test was aborted. Boca Chica Village residents received an ‘Alert’ notice from SpaceX stating they will conduct ‘space operations’ tomorrow, Tuesday, February 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central Time, pictured below. If a brief ignition of the methane-fueled Raptor engines is successful, SpaceX could launch Starship SN10 approximately 10-kilometers above the sandy beach later this week. According to Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), SpaceX could potentially launch Starship sometime between February 23 to February 26. You can watch SpaceX operations Live in the video below, courtesy of LabPadre via YouTube.

 

 

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About the Author

Evelyn Arevalo

Evelyn Arevalo

Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.

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