Space News Pod

SpaceX is gearing up for a key test of its immense rocket that is designed for commercial launches, as well as the Mars mission Elon Musk has long sought.  Near a beach east of Brownsville, Texas, employees at Mr. Musk’s space company are preparing for the inaugural orbital flight of Starship, the towering rocket system the company has been developing for years to one day launch into deep space. The initial test mission would last around 90 minutes, beginning with a fiery blast of the ship’s booster over the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX has said in a regulatory filing.   It isn’t clear when SpaceX will attempt the first flight, after dates Mr. Musk has discussed came and went. Some officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a customer for a version of Starship, previously said they thought the mission could occur in early December. Mr. Musk, who acquired Twitter Inc. and recently delivered Tesla Inc.’s first all-electric semitrailer trucks, has described getting Starship into orb