SpaceX will attempt to launch a new spacecraft this Thursday

Learn about the largest rocket in history, created by Elon Musk’s company

The new takeoff should take place around 10:28 AM (Brasilia time). The rocket will launch from Starbase, SpaceX’s space base in Boca Chica, Texas, according to AFP.

Takeoff was suspended on Monday minutes ahead of schedule, due to a pressure issue in the thrust stage, according to company information.

“We expect at least 48 hours before we can attempt this test flight again,” a SpaceX employee said in a live video broadcast by the company.

“It’s a very risky journey,” Musk said Sunday, during a Twitter’s Spaces event. “It is the first time that a very complex and gigantic missile has been launched,” he said.

“There are a million ways this missile could fail. We’re going to be very careful and if we see something that we’re worried about, we’ll put it off,” he said.

NASA has selected the Starship to carry astronauts to the moon in late 2025 – on a mission called Artemis III – for the first time since the end of the Apollo program in 1972.

At an altitude of 120 meters, Starship belongs to the class of super-heavy bombers, capable of carrying payloads of more than 100 tons into orbit. Its take-off capacity should be more than twice that of the legendary Saturn V – 111 meters – a rocket from the famous Apollo lunar program.

The Starship consists of a reusable capsule about 50 meters high carrying crew and cargo, located above the Super Heavy first-stage booster, about 70 meters (See details below).

Comparing the spacecraft’s elevation to famous landmarks – Image: Arte/g1