After eliminating several attempts at weather issues, technical issues, and even a range violation due to a nearby ship, SpaceX managed to test static fire the latest prototype of its Starship vehicle on Thursday.
At 3:02 pm local time in South Texas, the only Raptor engine connected to the spacecraft prototype called Serial Number 5, or SN5, roared for a few seconds. In the video shared by NASASpaceflight.com, the test appeared to be nominal, evidently giving SpaceX engineers the confidence they need in the latest version of Starship.
The SN5 spacecraft has just completed full-length static fire. 150m jump soon.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2020
Shortly after the test, SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk confirmed that the static fire meant the company is now planning to move forward with a short test flight of the vehicle. According to a notification from the US Federal Aviation Administration, this 150-meter flight test could be conducted as early as Sunday, with a launch window open at 8am local time (13:00 UTC ).
This would be the first Starship hardware flight test since a stocky prototype, Starhopper, soared 150 meters in late August 2019. That test, in which a single Raptor engine propelled the vehicle up and sideways for a few 100 meters before landing, it was successful in demonstrating thrust and vector control of the methane fueled engine.
Since then, SpaceX has built several large-scale prototypes, losing them in a variety of fuel and pressure tests. With an iterative testing program like the one SpaceX is using to develop Starship, the company has chosen to accept a reasonable level of risk to move quickly.
And SpaceX has been doing exactly that. In the past eight months, he has built an impressive factory in South Texas and has started producing prototypes of Starship. Its engineers and technicians have cut the time to build a single starship from months to weeks, bringing the company closer to Musk’s ultimate goal of mass-producing the large interplanetary spacecraft that could one day allow humans to settle on Mars.
Despite the fact that SpaceX has been testing SN5 on the test bench, pieces of hardware are on-site for various future prototypes, including models that will use a new, stronger steel alloy. Ultimately, SpaceX plans to jump one of these latest prototypes about 20 km away, perhaps later this year.
After that point, the company is expected to focus on completing the first stage of the launch system, a rocket called “Super Heavy” that will be used to lift the spacecraft into low Earth orbit.
