Musk says he does not count on the success of the first flight of his Starship
U.S. businessman Elon Musk said he did not expect the first test flight of his Starship scheduled for Monday to be a success and suggested that the launch would be delayed.
Musk’s company, SpaceX, plans to send Starship into orbit at 7:00-9:30 a.m. local time with a Super Heavy launch vehicle, followed by their landing in the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, respectively.
“Success is not something that should be counted on tomorrow. It would be insane,” Musk said, speaking to paid followers of his Twitter account.
He called postponing the launch the most likely outcome. Musk found it difficult to say exactly what could go wrong, but called the engines the most sensitive part of the design. He made it clear that he would most like to avoid an explosion at the launch site in Texas, since it could take months to prepare for a restart if that happens.
In his remarks, Musk mentioned the Soviet H-1 rocket, which, like Starship, was intended to fly to the moon and beyond, but after several failed tests, the project was shut down.
“It was a rocket of very impressive design, but it never reached orbit,” he said.