'Success Is Far From Certain, But Excitement Is Guaranteed': Elon Musk Says SpaceX May Attempt Starship Launch In March

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that the private space firm is likely to attempt the first orbital launch of its Starship rocket in March.

"If remaining tests go well, we will attempt a Starship launch next month," Musk tweeted on Sunday (5 January), in a response to a user's tweet about Starship.

Musk had in January said that there was a "real shot" at launching Starship in late February, adding that a March launch attempt appears highly likely.

SpaceX, since last year, has been looking to launch its giant Starship into orbit for the first time, a pivotal demonstration flight as it aims to fly NASA astronauts to the moon under the US space agency's Artemis mission.

Responding to another tweet on Monday (6 January) on Starship launch attempt next month, Musk clarified that SpaceX would "attempt to launch in March", adding "Success is far from certain, but excitement is guaranteed".

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry up to 150 metric tonnes to Earth orbit reusable, and up to 250 metric tonnes expendable.

The company last month conducted a fueling test of its full Starship launch vehicle 23 January, taking the vehicle one step closer to its first orbital launch attempt.

The fully stacked Starship vehicle, consisting of a Super Heavy booster designated Booster 7 and a Starship upper stage named Ship 24, was filled with liquid oxygen and methane propellants during the test at SpaceX’s Starbase test site in Boca Chica, Texas.

The test, called a wet dress rehearsal, simulates a countdown without firing the vehicle’s engines.

The wet dress rehearsal was one of the final milestones for the vehicle before the company was ready to attempt an orbital launch.

Another is a static-fire test of all 33 Raptor engines in the Super Heavy booster, something SpaceX is yet to attempt.