Elon Musk says SpaceX's Mars rocket Starship 'ready for launch', FAA approval awaited

On Sunday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that the space company’s Mars rocket starship is “ready for launch”. The billionaire took to Twitter to make the announcement while making clear that the space exploration company is currently waiting for approval from the regulatory authorities. The development comes a month after the Tesla CEO stated that the mega-rocket Starship will be ready for its first launch attempt, possibly in the month of April. 

The launch of the mega-rocket, which is considered the “humanities vehicle to Mars," has been delayed multiple times over the course of many months. As per the SpaceX website, the deep-space rocket is expected to liftoff from Space X’s launch facility in Texas. 

“Starship is ready for launch. Awaiting regulatory approval,” the SpaceX CEO tweeted on Sunday. Musk was referring to The Federal Aviation Administration which has listed the rocket’s orbital test flight for Monday, April 17, The National News reported. The American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and satellite communications corporation can only go ahead with the launch only when the launch licence is approved by the regulators. Last month, Musk hinted that the launch of SpaceX's ambitious project can take place somewhere in April. “SpaceX will be ready to launch Starship in a few weeks, then launch timing depends on FAA license approval. Assuming that takes a few weeks, the first launch attempt will be near the end of the third week of April, aka…,” Musk tweeted in March. 

Starship is ready for launch 🚀

Awaiting regulatory approval

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

SpaceX will be ready to launch Starship in a few weeks, then launch timing depends on FAA license approval.

Assuming that takes a few weeks, first launch attempt will be near end of third week of April, aka …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)

The ambitious project and the challenges around it

According to the Space exploration company, the Starship is a Super Heavy rocket that represents a fully reusable transportation system, which is designed to carry both crew and cargo to Mars, Moon and beyond. The heavy rocket system is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle to have ever been developed. According to SpaceX, the rocket is capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes of fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes of expendable weight. Starship stands 120 meters or 394 feet tall and is composed of two components. The first stage is the Super Heavy Booster and the second stage includes the ship. 

The launch of Musk’s ambitious project has faced several hurdles. Prior to his March announcement, Musk predicted that the starship would fly to Mars in July 2022. However, Musk’s plan faced a wide range of challenges multiple times. According to CNBC, the Federal Communication Commission revealed the plan to launch in May 2021. It was planned that the entire mission would last for about 90 minutes. In the first stage, it was planned that the Super Heavy Booster would land in the Gulf of Mexico a little over 30 km from the shore 170 seconds after the launch. In the second stage, the ship will continue to soar in orbit and will make a landing about 100 km northwest of Kauai island. However, acquiring the launch licence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been the biggest hurdle for the American space exploration company since June last year.