SpaceX is an aerospace company. The CEO and founder of the company are Elon Musk, who is famous for his innovative approach to cars, etc. In 17 years, this company became from a small unknown company to leaders in the aerospace industry. Elon Musk and his company transformed this industry because before governmental organizations such as NASA and Roskomsos dominated this industry.
Company is planning to launch its next satellite on Tuesday, August 6. SpaceX will use medium-lift launch vehicle Falcon-9 to launch the Israeli communication satellite. The name of the satellite is Amos-17. According to the initial plan, SpaceX wanted to launch the communications satellite on August 3 but had to change the plan. The problem was during preflight static fire test on August 1 there was a valve problem. The company made the decision to delay the launch to solve the issue and scheduled a second static fire test.
According to SpaceX, the company is going to launch the satellite from Space Launch Complex. This complex is in Florida at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The owner of the satellite is an Israeli company Spacecom. It is worth mentioning that Amos-17 is an advanced communications satellite. The size of Amos-17 is quite big. It weighs 6.5 metric tons or 6,500 kilograms. This launch is important for SpaceX because the company was unable to launch a satellite which belonged to the same company. This happened in 2016. This is an important moment for the company to prove that they are capable of handling such satellites.
SpaceX Starship project
Launching satellites is not the only business for SpaceX. They have other ambitious plans as well. For example, Elon Musk confirmed on his Twitter that first detailed review of the Starship Mark 1 is scheduled for August 24. This project is a new challenge for the company. They plan to use this spacecraft to transport people to Mars in the future. It will have the capacity to transport up to 100 passengers to another planet.
Let’s have a look at this spacecraft. The company designed Starship as long-range cargo or passenger-carrying spacecraft. According to the initial plan, SpaceX will launch commercial payloads in three years. However exact date remains unknown. The company plans to unveil prototype which will able to fly by the end of this month or in August.
Elon Musk will present more details on August 24 in Texas. The company operates a facility called South Texas Launch Site. Opponents often say that Musk is too optimistic about this event. They mentioned that Musk missed deadlines in several times while announcing different projects.
SpaceX has the plan to send human beings to Mars in 2030s. It is hard to predict whether they will accomplish this plan. They accomplished many goals, and this might be the next one.
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