The Starship rocket of Space X is the most powerful rocket ever built by the company and will now launch for the first time since it cleared the last regulatory barrier.The FAA ApprovalThe Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial rocket launches, stated on Friday that it has authorised SpaceXs application for an uncrewed test flight of the rocket from its South Texas facility. The rocket is prepared to launch on Monday after undergoing preflight field trials. The FAA stated in its press release that it “met all safeguarding, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration, and financial accountability standards” following a thorough licence evaluation procedure.Starship: A rocket that carries the dream of interplanetary transportationAfter years of development to perfect the rocket architecture, this will be SpaceXs maiden launch of the Starship into space. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has been talking about Starship for about ten years, giving lengthy briefings about its architecture and referring to it as the vehicle that supports SpaceXs original mission: the first manned mission to Mars.SpaceX is working on the Starship, a reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle. It is intended to be the tallest and most powerful launching spacecraft ever constructed and the first to be completely reusable, towering 120 m (390 ft) tall and with more than twice the power of the Saturn V.Furthermore, NASA has already awarded SpaceX contracts and options worth more than $3 billion to utilise Starship to take government personnel to the moons surface as part of the space agencys Artemis programme.The first flying test wont finish an entire orbit of the planet. However, if successful, it will accelerate to orbital speeds and go 150 miles or more above the planets surface, the region considered to be outer space.Design of the StarshipStarship comprises two parts: the Super Heavy booster, a massive rocket with 33 engines, and the Starship spacecraft, which sits atop the rockets booster during launch and is meant to break away after the boosters fuel runs out.The rocket booster will be dumped into the sea shortly after liftoff on this mission. SpaceX intends to recover the vehicle in future flights by guiding it to a vertical landing at the launch site. The Starship spacecraft will make nearly one full circle of the planet before splashing down off the coast of Hawaii. Starship construction has occurred at SpaceXs privately controlled launching station and spaceport near Brownsville, Texas, on the US-Mexico border. SpaceX has been waiting for FAA certification for an orbital launch attempt for over a year. The company, as well as federal officials, will ensure that SpaceX missions do not endanger people or property in the area around the launch site. They have received severe opposition from the local population, particularly environmental groups, prior to the approval.The FAA awarded SpaceX one major permit for launching Starship in June, but it also spelt out a list of “mitigating actions” the firm must conduct before the maiden flight. According to the FAA official, government workers would be on the ground to ensure SpaceX follows the terms of their licence throughout the test launch.
