First flight
A large-scale SpaceX prototype spacecraft is about to make its first attempt to take off.
When asked about an upgrade to the company’s SN5 Starship spacecraft prototype, the fifth of its kind, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk replied yesterday that he “will try to fly later this week.”
The massive SN5 prototype is expected to “jump” just 150 meters (492 feet) according to road closure submissions published earlier this month.
A great leap
The test flight would follow flight attempts by the space company “Starhopper,” a small but still massive prototype, which successfully flew 150 meters in August 2019. SN5 is substantially larger, currently rising above from the company’s test facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
SN5 will likely still have to go through a fuel test and static fire test of its Raptor rocket engine, according to Teslarati, before it can attempt its first test flight.
A video uploaded to YouTube by NASA space flight Earlier this month it also showed that SpaceX was mounting a “mass simulator” on top of the SN5 prototype, likely an effort to simulate a payload during test flights.
READ MORE: SpaceX Starship begins a busy week of testing to prepare for the flight’s debut[[[[Teslarati]
More about the test: SpaceX is planning the first Starship test flight for next week
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