[News] SpaceX Shares Fresh Starship Test Fire Footage As Launch Likely Slips

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SpaceX has shared fresh footage of its Starship static fire last week that saw all engines successfully ignite and only two engines shut down on the massive 33-engine Starship rocket booster. Officially called the Super Heavy, the rocket is responsible for the first stage of the Starship rocket system's flight, and SpaceX has increased the flow of tests on the rocket this month as it aims to test Starship for yet another orbital launch attempt soon. Starship is crucial for both NASA's lunar landings and SpaceX's Starlink constellation and a successful orbital test flight will mark the first major milestone for the rocket, which relies on a complex orbital refueling profit for its Moon and Mars mission architecture.

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The scale of the Starship rocket, which measures 394 feet tall when fully stacked and uses 33 Raptor engines for flight, makes each of its tests a highly anticipated event. SpaceX conducted the first Starship orbital test flight in April, which was a partial success as while the rocket did clear the pad and made it to stage separation, the rest of the test was not so lucky.

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Stage separation is the point in flight when a rocket's first and second stages separate, and the April test saw the massive Starship flip in the air multiple times before ground control sent the command for self-destruction. At the same time, several of its engines had stopped functioning during flight, and the massive thrust of the Super Heavy booster laid havoc on the launch site, with nearby towns covered in dust and a deep crater present at the launch site.

All this 'excitement' left SpaceX with plenty of work to do before it could attempt the next flight. SpaceX kept up with the pace of rapid development and quickly built and tested a water deluge system for the launch pad, and tests so far indicate that the system is working as expected.

 

link : https://wccftech.com/spacex-shares-fresh-starship-test-fire-footage-as-launch-likely-slips/