Musk says Starship will be ready for a new flight in a month
The third Starship may be ready to launch in 3-4 weeks, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said. However, it is not yet known whether the company will have time to obtain the necessary permit by then.
Starship Flight 3 hardware should be ready to fly in 3 to 4 weeks. There are three ships in final production in the high bay (as can be seen from the highway).
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2023
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently investigating the cause of the accident during the partially successful Starship flight on November 18. The Super Heavy was scheduled to return to Earth and crash in the Gulf of Mexico about seven minutes after takeoff. However, it exploded almost immediately after the stages were separated.
The Starship reached an altitude of 148 kilometers, after which an explosion occurred and communication was lost.
Nevertheless, the flight achieved several important goals. In particular, they successfully demonstrated the disconnection of the stages and the operation of all 33 engines for the required time.
After the first unsuccessful Starship launch in April, Musk promised the next attempt in 6-8 weeks. However, it took almost seven months to prepare the second flight and obtain the necessary permits.
According to Musk, SpaceX is already preparing the next three Starships, which are in the final stages of production. This will allow us to increase the pace of test launches in the future.
