President-elect Donald Trump stepped into the world of Elon Musk on Tuesday as he prepared to join Musk for a SpaceX test.
The Tuesday test hopes to replicate the success of an October test in which the massive, fiery booster rocket that SpaceX wants to use to send astronauts to the moon, and perhaps eventually to Mars, touched down with dainty precision into the arms of a landing structure.
Trump was shown in a post on X leaving for Musk’s Texas testing facility.
President @realDonaldTrump en route to @SpaceX!!! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/gNARfMTAGk
— Margo Martin (@margomartin) November 19, 2024
The test goes like this: The Super Heavy booster will launch from the Starbase testing facility in Brownsville, Texas, sending it and the Starship spacecraft into space, according to CNN.
The trip won’t last very long.
The booster will detach from the Starship spacecraft and then steer itself back to where it was launched.
The goal is to nestle into the arms of a structure Musk calls “Mechazilla.”
Do you think SpaceX will eventually land a man on Mars?
If everything goes to plan and the weather cooperates, the booster test will last about seven minutes.
“Should be an exciting day!” Musk posted on X.
Should be an exciting day!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2024
The Starship spacecraft will float about in space for around half an hour before it remotely uses its rockets to return to Earth, according to CNN.
NASA is hoping that the Starship spacecraft will land astronauts on the moon in 2026.
All systems and weather are looking good for today’s flight test of Starship.
The live launch webcast on @X will go live ~40 minutes before liftoff, which is targeted for 4:00 p.m. CT → https://t.co/1xyLhQKE2N pic.twitter.com/lqy2CsL4vz
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024
Tuesday’s test, coming just over a month after the successful Oct. 13 test, marks the least amount of time between tests that SpaceX has attempted.
Musk has said he hoped to send the Starship spacecraft to Mars in 2026 and send a flight with humans on board in 2028, according to USA Today.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas will also be attending the launch, according to CNBC.
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