Washington (AFP)
Space company SpaceX was preparing Monday for the possible afternoon launch of its Starship prototype rocket from its South Texas site.
The company founded by the whimsical billionaire Elon Musk hopes to finally succeed in a test flight of its interplanetary rocket - the last three tests having ended in a spectacular explosion.
"I ordered the closure of Boca Chica Beach and Highway 4 in order to protect public health and safety during SpaceX's spaceflight activities on March 29," a local judge said in a statement.
Elon Musk also tweeted on Sunday about a "possible Starship flight tomorrow afternoon."
The launch window for the rocket is between noon and 5:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. GMT), and in the event of a green light, SpaceX will broadcast the operation online.
A launch initially planned for Friday had to be canceled, no doubt due to bad weather conditions.
SN11 is the 11th prototype of the Starship rocket and spacecraft, which SpaceX hopes will someday carry passengers to the Moon, Mars, and beyond ...
The rocket, the 4th of the prototypes to take off, will perform a 10 km ascent before heading down to the ground for a smooth vertical landing.
SN8 and SN9 had launched in December and February respectively, but crashed and exploded, while on March 3 SN10 managed to land but also exploded a few minutes later.
Despite these failures, according to experts, SpaceX is accumulating valuable data that will allow it to accelerate the development of its space program.
Eventually, SpaceX plans to combine its Starship spacecraft with its Super Heavy rocket, in order to create a completely reusable machine for missions to the Moon, Mars, before finally venturing further into the solar system.
The final version of the rocket will rise to 120 meters in height and will be able to carry a cargo of 100 tons in Earth orbit, thus granting it the title of the most powerful launch vehicle ever.
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