SpaceX conducts static fire test of Starship spacecraft first stage, not all engines fire

February 10, 2023  10:36

The SpaceX company has conducted a static fire test of the engines of the first stage prototype of the Starship spacecraft, Booster 7. Starship is designed for flights to the Moon and deep space. During the test, 31 of the 33 Raptor engines worked, Space.com reports.

It turned out that all 33 engines were originally scheduled to be tested during the test at Starbase in Texas, but the team shut down one engine just before the start of the test, and another shut down on its own. According to Elon Musk, the head of the company, regularly operated engines are quite enough to go into orbit.

The static fire test lasted about seven seconds—as planned. SpaceX sees Starship as a potentially revolutionary transportation system that would make colonization of Mars and other extraterrestrial projects "economically viable" in the future.

The spacecraft consists of two elements: a first-stage Super Heavy rocket, and a 50-meter-long second-stage spacecraft named Starship. Both the first and second elements are designed to be reusable; both have new generation Raptor engines. The first phase received 33 engines, and the second—6 engines.

SpaceX spent months preparing Booster 7 and the Starship prototype—named Ship 24—for orbital flight. This included a two-stage charge test that took place at the end of January, as well as a series of short static fire tests of the engines, during which the structure remained on the ground.

Last September, all six Starship engines were tested, and two months later, 14 of Booster 7's 33 engines were tested. This test was probably the last before the flight, which is expected to take place in March.

The first-stage Booster 7 and Ship 24 pair is expected to be the most powerful rocket ever launched into space, surpassing NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which until recently was in a leading position and powered the Artemis 1 lunar mission. If the SLS generates more than 4 million kg of thrust, the Starship's 33 Raptor engines can provide twice as much power.

After the orbital flight, Booster 7 will return to Earth, landing in the Gulf of Mexico shortly after takeoff, while Ship 24 will circle Earth once before landing in the Pacific Ocean—near Hawaii.


 
 
 
 
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