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Impending launch of SpaceX's colossal Starship rocket on its ninth test flight.

Aim for Mars Expedition in 2026

Upcoming ninth test flight for SpaceX's colossal rocket, Starship, is imminent.
Upcoming ninth test flight for SpaceX's colossal rocket, Starship, is imminent.

Impending launch of SpaceX's colossal Starship rocket on its ninth test flight.

SpaceX's Giant Starship Rocket Prepares for Ninth Test Flight, Targeting Mars Mission by 2026

The colossal Starship rocket, SpaceX's most ambitious spacecraft to date, is set for its ninth test flight. Slated for launch on Tuesday at 18:30 local time (01:30 UTC) from SpaceX's Starbase in Texas, the Starship aims to revolutionize interplanetary travel by potentially reaching Mars as early as 2026.

Standing imposing at 123 meters tall, the Starship surpasses all previously built space rockets in terms of size and power. SpaceX envisions a fully reusable, cost-effective rocket with the Starship. However, four out of eight previous test flights have ended in explosions, the latest being in March, where the top stage of the rocket disintegrated and debris cascaded over the Bahamas. Another incident occurred during the seventh test flight in mid-January, when the top stage of the Starship exploded, with debris striking the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has responded to the scale of this mission by closing the airspace within a 1600 nautical mile radius around the Texas launch site, nearly doubling the size of the previous test flight exclusion zones.

For the ninth test, the top stage of Starship is planned to orbit around half the Earth and land in the Indian Ocean. Unlike the previous tests, the bottom stage will be reused and carry satellite-like payloads into the atmosphere. It has been reported by the Wall Street Journal that SpaceX has redirected personnel and resources to the Starship program to expedite a first Mars mission in the coming year.

Sources: ntv.de, AFP

While these tests have seen their fair share of setbacks, SpaceX remains undeterred in its quest to make human life multiplanetary. Despite the challenges faced during previous test flights, SpaceX's rapid iteration and improvement based on test results indicate that it is moving closer to achieving its ambitious timeline.

Space-and-astronomy enthusiasts eagerly await the ninth test flight of SpaceX's Giant Starship rocket, a technological marvel designed to pioneer space travel and reach Mars by 2026. In the face of setbacks and failures, Science continues to bear witness to SpaceX's unwavering commitment to making human life multiplanetary.

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