SpaceX will try to launch 1st Starship orbital flight on April 17

A rainbow arcs behind SpaceX's stacked Starship vehicle at the company's Starbase facility in South Texas. SpaceX posted this photo on Twitter on April 11, 2023. (Image credit: SpaceX via Twitter)

It's official: SpaceX will try to launch the first orbital test mission of its huge Starship vehicle on Monday (April 17).

SpaceX has been targeting Monday for the Starship flight for the past week or so. That plan was tentative, however, as the company still needed to secure a launch license from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).