• SpaceX will attempt to launch its largest rocket yet today.
• The launch window will be 90 minutes long and will open at 15:00.
• Elon Musk told his Twitter subscribers to set expectations low as SpaceX is being cautious about this launch.

On Saturday SpaceX received some good news in the form of approval for an orbital test flight from the Federal Aviation Administration in the US. That orbital test flight is for the firm’s Starship spacecraft.

Standing 120m tall and with a diameter of 9m, Starship is a behemoth of a spacecraft designed with the goal of taking humans and cargo to Mars.

But first Starship needs to get into space and that’s the goal of this launch today, well, the ultimate goal. On Sunday evening, Elon Musk told his Twitter subscribers that there is a good chance that the launch gets postponed altogether as SpaceX is being rather careful with this launch.

“If we get far enough away from launch pad before something goes wrong, then I think I would consider that to be a success. Just don’t blow up the pad,” Musk said according to CNN.

The launch window for this orbital test flight opens at 15:00 local time this afternoon and will remain open for roughly 90 minutes. The craft will launch from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.

While the idea that Musk will be happy if Starship simply gets far away enough from the launchpad seems to be a low expectation, Starship is massive and any data that helps engineers and scientists hone the craft will be valuable.

We say this because should this test be successful, it will be the largest rocket to enter orbit. That honour has been held by NASA after it’s Space Launch System took the Orion spacecraft on a round trip to the Moon last year.

The eventual goal for SpaceX is to take humans and cargo to the Moon. The spacecraft can carry as much as 150 metric tonnes of cargo. This is also unlikely to be the last test for this rocket. The firm has said that it hopes to conduct as many as 100 launches before putting humans aboard the rocket.

With that having been said, we’re sure SpaceX is hoping for the best with this launch and so are we.

You can watch the launch later below via a livestream on YouTube.