US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to attend the launch of SpaceX's massive Starship rocket on Tuesday, according to multiple reports, marking the latest indication of strengthening ties between the former president and billionaire Elon Musk.
Temporary flight restrictions have been put in place around Brownsville, Texas, where the launch will take place, to accommodate VIP movements. The launch window is set to open at 4:00 p.m. local time (2200 GMT). In a related move, usual air traffic restrictions over Trump's residence in West Palm Beach, Florida, are set to be lifted during the same time frame.
US media outlets, including NewsNation, have reported that US President-elect Donald Trump plans to attend the upcoming launch of SpaceX's Starship rocket on Tuesday. The report cites the office of local House Representative Vicente Gonzalez.
Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX and the world’s richest man, has become a regular presence at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate following the Republican’s election victory earlier this month. Musk is also set to co-lead a new government efficiency department, which has raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest, particularly given SpaceX’s extensive contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense.
The upcoming launch will mark a major milestone for SpaceX, with the company's Starship rocket—a gleaming stainless steel giant central to Musk's vision of colonizing Mars—set to undergo the fastest turnaround between test flights for the world’s most powerful rocket. This follows a stunning technical achievement last month, when SpaceX successfully caught Starship's massive booster stage using the "chopstick" arms of its towering launch structure, further solidifying its leadership in reusable rocketry.
During his election night victory speech, Trump praised the Starship mission, calling the booster catch "a beautiful thing to see" and stressing that the United States was the only nation capable of such technological feats.
(Source: AFP)
BD-Pratidin English/Mazdud
