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The commercial spaceflight company SpaceX is preparing to test a huge, stainless-steel rocket. The machine could one day carry humans to the moon, Mars and beyond.
But first, it has to fly. The first launch attempt is set to take place in South Texas during a 150-minute window that opens at 8 a.m. Eastern on Monday. In a tweet, SpaceX said it was targeting around 9:20 a.m. Eastern for liftoff.
Starship is unlike any other rocket, and SpaceX acknowledges that the first test flight will be extremely risky.
« It’s a very complex machine; it has so many different components, » says Paulo Lozano, director of MIT’s space propulsion laboratory. The rocket is larger than any ever built. Success will depend upon dozens of engines, firing in perfect synchrony.
The stakes could not be higher, at least to hear SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speak about the mission.
