President-elect Donald Trump appears to be planning to attend Tuesday’s SpaceX “Starship” rocket launch, in the latest sign of Republican founder Elon Musk’s influence in orbit.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary flight restrictions over Brownsville and Boca Chica, Texas, for a VIP visit that coincides with SpaceX’s launch window for tests of its massive Starship rocket from its launch facility in the Gulf of Mexico. is Restrictions on flights to Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida, will be lifted briefly while he is there, while Texas security measures are in place.
Trump’s visit comes as billionaire Musk has been a constant presence with Trump as he forms his administration, attending meetings at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club last week in Washington. Accompanied him in meetings with Capitol Hill Republicans and one at the UFC. Fight in New York on Saturday.
Trump often regaled audiences on the campaign trail with a dramatic account of the final Starship test, which included holding the booster on its launch pad by mechanical arms.
Tuesday’s 30-minute launch window opens at 4 p.m. Central Time, with the company trying to retest the booster’s landing capture system in Texas, while the upper stage continues in the Indian Ocean.
Musk raised an estimated $200 million through his political action committee to help elect Trump and has been named to lead an advisory committee along with former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump has tasked with dramatically cutting government spending and reshaping the way Washington operates. raised ethical concerns over many of Musk’s interests before the federal government.
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president-elect’s plans.
Watch the launch, scheduled for Tuesday at 4pm local time, below:
Watch Starship’s sixth flight test → https://t.co/oIFc3u9laE https://t.co/acpdO2brbP
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 16, 2024
