SpaceX is preparing for a training and test flight of the Starship rocket

The private space company said Thursday that SpaceX plans to hold a rehearsal for the launch of the Starship spacecraft next week, the most powerful rocket ever built, with its first test flight likely the following week.

SpaceX has released photos of the massive spacecraft, designed to send astronauts to the moon and beyond, on the launch pad at the company’s base in Texas.

“Starship is fully stacked at Starbase,” SpaceX said in a tweet. “The team is working towards launch rehearsal next week followed by Starship’s first integrated flight test ~ a week later pending regulatory approval.”

SpaceX will need a green light from the Federal Aviation Administration before it will be allowed to test orbital launches.

SpaceX successfully test-fired 33 Raptor engines on its Starship first stage in February.

The 230-foot (69 m) super heavy booster was nailed to the ground during a test firing, called a static fire, to keep it from firing.

The Starship consists of a reusable capsule that will carry the crew, cargo, and the first stage booster.

NASA selected the spacecraft capsule to carry its astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2025 at the earliest.

The US space agency will take astronauts into lunar orbit in November 2024 using its heavy rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS), which has been in development for more than a decade.

The spacecraft is larger and more powerful than the SLS.

It generates 17 million pounds of thrust, more than double the Saturn V rockets used to send the Apollo astronauts to the Moon.

SpaceX expects to eventually put the spacecraft into orbit, then refuel it with another vehicle so it can continue the journey to Mars or beyond.

Other super heavy missiles under development include the New Glenn Blue Origin, China’s Long March 9 and Russia’s Yenisei.

© 2023 AFP