
SpaceX has been busy with multiple rocket launches, starting with more than 100 small payloads from California and two commercial moon landers from Florida, all carried by Falcon 9 rockets. The company is now gearing up for the highly anticipated launch of the Super Heavy-Starship from the Texas Gulf Coast, set to be the program's seventh test flight. However, adverse weather conditions have led to a delay in the launch, now rescheduled for Thursday.
The upcoming launch is set to follow other significant space events, including a spacewalk outside the International Space Station by NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Starliner pilot Sunita Williams. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin is preparing for the maiden flight of its New Glenn rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, after facing its own weather-related delay.
The Super Heavy-Starship, described as the most powerful rocket ever built, is equipped with 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines and aims to generate 16 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. In comparison, the New Glenn rocket by Blue Origin, though less powerful, is reusable and will compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9-family rockets. Both companies are focused on rocket reusability and recovery, with SpaceX attempting to recover the Super Heavy booster using mechanical arms known as chopsticks mounted on the launch tower. With upgrades and modifications to both rockets, SpaceX is working towards achieving reusability for the entire system and eventually sending humans and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, and Mars.