True to form, SpaceX tested its Starship Super Heavy booster at the launch pad today after shipping the rocket earlier this week. The Starship static fire was the second for the booster nine on the pad, and by the looks of it, the test was a success. SpaceX shipped the rocket back to its assembly and production facilities earlier this month after Starship's first static fire saw some engines shut down. However, within a month, the firm had shipped the rocket back to the launch pad, and a static fire was quite likely today after SpaceX tested the rocket's pumps and local authorities in Boca Chica, Texas, sent out notices to residents warning them of a potential overpressurization event.
SpaceX Conducts Full Duration Starship Super Heavy Static Fire
Today's test appeared to be a test, as SpaceX confirmed that Super Heavy booster nine had conducted a full-duration static fire. This marks a significant improvement over the previous static fire of the rocket that had seen some of its engines shut down, according to the mission controller who confirmed it live.
All Starship engines appeared to light up this time, and the test lasted for roughly six seconds. The test objectives require firing the Raptor engines to half their full power. Views of the rocket also showed SpaceX's new inter-stage on top, which will protect the booster during the hot stage separation during test flight two.
As the test ended, SpaceX's mission controller confirmed that the test was a full-duration run. From the start of the engines to their shutdown, it appeared that the test lasted six seconds. SpaceX's Dan Huot, who hosted the static fire live stream, also confirmed on air that the firm had intended to test the 33 Raptor engines for six seconds.
Assuming that the test was a success and no engine among the group of 33 either shut down or displayed any other anomalous behavior, it will tick off a crucial item on SpaceX's checklist for the second orbital test flight. The Super Heavy is perhaps the most complex component of the Starship rocket system simply due to the number of rocket engines that it uses.
Sticking to its theme of reusability, SpaceX has opted to use all liquid-fueled engines on the rocket instead of relying on solid rocket boosters to generate some of the thrust. Solid rocket boosters are significantly less complex than a 33-engine rocket system; however, they cannot be throttled and are only single-use. However, the need to make the complete Starship stack reusable has also made it challenging for SpaceX to balance out all of its engines during the rocket's startup and operation.
Today's static fire comes less than 24 hours before SpaceX is due to fly astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The firm also aims to fly a Starlink mission soon after that, and Starlink and NASA are crucial stakeholders in Starship's success. The space agency has contracted SpaceX to provide it with a lunar lander. Starlink requires the much larger Starship to rapidly build out the second-generation constellation with larger satellites.
SpaceX must also demonstrate a lunar landing to NASA before the space agency entrusts it to land humans on the Moon. The firm's lunar mission profile will require the crew second stage Starship to be refueled by a tanker Starship in Earth orbit, and SpaceX has to demonstrate this as well before it can go ahead to land on the Moon. Soon after today's test, SpaceX chief Elon Musk confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the test was a success.
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