SpaceX punts Starship launch as investigation opens into Starbase worker's death
2 hours ago
- #Starship Test
- #SpaceX
- #NASA Moon Mission
- SpaceX is preparing for a critical test flight of its Starship V3 megarocket, scheduled for May 21, amid scrutiny over delays affecting NASA's moon mission timeline and following a worker fatality at the Starbase facility.
- A federal watchdog report warns that Starship is behind schedule, jeopardizing NASA's plans to use it for lunar landings by 2028 and for orbital docking tests with the Orion capsule by 2027.
- The upcoming suborbital test aims to validate new hardware for the 124-meter-tall rocket, which is designed for reusability and heavy payloads, with previous tests often ending in failures, though the last two were successful.
- The test's outcome could influence SpaceX's anticipated IPO, valued at around $1.75 trillion, as Starship is central to expanding SpaceX's launch business, Starlink satellite network, and planned space-based data centers.