Musk Says Starship Orbital Stack to Be Ready for Flight in Few Weeks

SpaceX in May successfully landed its Starship prototype, SN15, a reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle that could eventually carry astronauts and large cargo payloads to the moon and Mars.

The touchdown came after four prototype landing attempts had ended in explosions.

“First orbital stack of Starship should be ready for flight in a few weeks, pending only regulatory approval,” Musk tweeted:

First orbital stack of Starship should be ready for flight in a few weeks, pending only regulatory approval

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 15, 2021

The complete Starship rocket, SpaceX’s next-generation launch vehicle, stands 394 feet (120 meters) tall when coupled with its super-heavy first-stage booster.

It is at the center of the Tesla Inc CEO’s ambitions to make human space travel more affordable and routine.

An orbital Starship flight is planned for year’s end, and Musk has said he intends to fly Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa around the moon in the Starship in 2023.

(Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis and William Mallard)