SpaceX Plans Starship Launch April 20 in Second Lift-Off Try
SpaceX is aiming to launch its next-generation Starship rocket on April 20, the second attempt for the groundbreaking flight after a pressurization issue upended the company's initial test.
Elon Musk's closely held company announced the new date in a tweet on Monday, hours after postponing a planned inaugural test flight for the fully assembled vehicle. Minutes before scheduled liftoff on Monday, SpaceX scrubbed the flight, citing a “pressurization issue.” Officials had said they would need at least 48 hours before trying again.
Musk had flagged a “frozen” pressure valve as an issue that might delay the launch in a tweet earlier in the day. But SpaceX made no reference to the issue in a statement about the new target date for sending Starship aloft.
The new launch window will open at 8:28 a.m. local time in Boca Chica, Texas, where its launch pad is located, and closes one hour and two minutes later, SpaceX said.
The uncrewed mission is a critical step in SpaceX's plan to send humans into deep space. The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., aims to send the massive rocket in a partial orbit of Earth for the first time, paving the way for later missions to the moon and Mars.
Delays — whether because of weather, technical issues or something else — are common in space launches.
The latest postponement adds to a timeline that has already been almost two decades in the making: As early as 2005, Musk alluded to plans for a giant rocket codenamed “BFR.” More recently, the company has been testing components of the rocket system in preparation for this launch, its first attempt to reach space.
The timing of the second attempt on April 20 appears to be a coincidence, although Musk is no stranger to the
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