Starship has not been launched. A small component of the giant Musk rocket failed

On February 9 this year, 31 of the 33 engines were tested on the ground, and the test was successful. This was the 35th system test since 2019. Several failed, but recent static tests ran smoothly. However, launching into orbit is not so simple. As a cautionary tale, Elon Musk recalls the example of a Soviet N1 missile roughly the size of a Starship, whose failed launch in 1969 ended in one of the largest man-made explosions.

Nobody wants a repeat of this scenario. Everything must be completed before starting. Meanwhile, on April 17, just before the 150-minute launch window began, one small component failed. The launch controller said “it looks like the pressure valve is frozen, so if it doesn’t work soon, the launch will be cancelled”. And so, unfortunately, it happened. At the moment, it has been announced on Twitter that the SpaceX team is working on the next launch possibility.

If the missile’s tests are successful and it reaches Earth’s orbit in the coming days, and then returns from it, it will open a new chapter in the history of space conquest. As announced by Elon Musk, the Starship will be able to make long-distance interplanetary flights, launch satellites and other heavy equipment into orbit, and even act as a carrier that instantly transports cargo from one place on Earth to another. In the near future, the Starship system will become part of NASA’s Artemis project – manned flights to the Moon and the construction of the first lunar base there. In order for the people on the spacecraft to reach the moon, it would be necessary to create a special human landing system for the spacecraft landing.

However, before that happens, in 2023, Japanese billionaire Ysaku Maezawa, who bought this spaceflight for himself and six artists, will take a trip around the moon. In Billionaire’s Intent, this six-day trip aims to become an inspiration for painters, poets, and musicians to create new works of art on a cosmic scale. It’s called the Gracious Hand of the Shepherd.