An historic event is likely to happen tomorrow — the attempted orbital launch of SpaceX’s Starship from Boca Chica, TX.
Elon Musk is cautious in his expectation. He believes that if it does not blow up on the launch pad, it’ll be a success. It could blow up. As he put it, “Success maybe; excitement guaranteed.”
I am already excited.
(Click on the image to embiggen. Credit: SpaceX.)
When will be the launch? The launch window opens tomorrow 17th April, Monday, 7 AM Central. See end of post for details.[1] (For viewers in India, that will be Monday 5:30 PM.) Set your alarms for the webcast which beings 45 minutes before launch.
Did I say that I am already excited? Yes. I would have definitely driven down to Starbase in Boca Chica, TX, had I been in Austin or Dallas. As it happens, I am in San Jose CA. So no go. But I will be back in Texas in a few weeks.
Anyway, this is only the first attempted launch. I will set my morning alarm for 4:30 AM Pacific time Monday (6:30 AM Central time) to start watching the webcast.
I am certain that in a year or so, there will dozens of launches of the spaceship and I am sure to see one in person. Even after Starship launches become routine, it will still be exciting to me. After all, I have seen hundreds of planes take off, and yet I watch planes taking off with wide-eyed wonder.
We are watching history being made. It’s been only 120 years since the Wright brothers’ powered heavier-than-air contraption lifted off at Kitty Hawk, NC and flew 120 feet.
The Starship stands nearly 400 feet tall. The technology has come a long way. I have no doubt that there will come a time when people of that future would look upon the Starship as quaint and puny as the Wright Flyer appears to us. Their spaceships would probably be kilometers long and carry thousands of people across the Solar system.
As I always say, this is the best time ever in history to be alive; and any time in the future would be a better time to be alive than now.
Notes:
[1] “According to SpaceX’s mission plan, Starship and Super Heavy have a 150-minute window in which to lift off from Starbase. That puts the launch attempt for anytime between 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. EDT (7-9:30 a.m. CT/1200-1430 GMT). Exactly when SpaceX will target the launch within that 2.5-hour window will depend on the readiness of Starship and Super Heavy, the weather conditions at the launch site and if the launch “keep-out” zone is clear of ships offshore as a safety precaution. ” Source: msn.com.
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