SpaceX has delayed by one day the expected second launch of the largest and most powerful Starship rocket ever built, Elon Musk, the head of the American company, announced on Thursday.
This second test flight will be closely monitored by NASA, which is counting on this spacecraft for its return missions to the Moon, after the first attempt ended in a major explosion in the spring.
Elon Musk said on. “The launch has therefore been postponed to Saturday,” he concluded.
On April 20, Starship flew for the first time in full configuration. But several engines did not work, and SpaceX deliberately blew up the rocket after four minutes.
The rocket disintegrated into a fireball and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, sending a cloud of dust over the city several miles away.
Over the course of seven months, the launch pad was rebuilt, and the water “flood” system was installed and tested. These splashes of water released when the engines are started must dampen the acoustic waves, limiting the vibrations.
In the long term, SpaceX plans to use Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, to reach the planet Mars.
But first, NASA expects SpaceX to deliver a modified version of the rocket to allow it to land on the moon as part of its Artemis mission.