The American company SpaceX plans to launch a prototype Starship spacecraft into orbit on April 20. This has been reported area companies.
According to SpaceX, the planned launch window from the launch site in Boca Chica, Texas will open at 08:28 local time (16:28 Moscow time) and close at 09:30 (5:30 Moscow time). time).
The first launch of the 120-metre Super Heavy launch vehicle with the Starship spacecraft aboard is scheduled for Monday at 08:20 (16:20 Moscow time). 40 seconds before expected start countdown stopped. The reason was a malfunction of one of the injection valves of the fuel system.
Starship is a next-generation, super-heavy, fully reusable rocket with both stages landing on its tail. Its main feature should be the ability to launch 100 tons of cargo into orbit on a ship integrated with the upper tier and refuel this ship using modified upper tier fuel tankers. It is Starship that will have to deliver astronauts to the moon under the NASA Artemis program in the second half of the 2020s.