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| SpaceX Successfully Tests Starship Super Heavy Booster Engine |
Texas - SpaceX has successfully tested statically starting a Starship Super Heavy booster for the first time. Earlier this month, SpaceX conducted two static test fires with Booster 7 at an orbital launch at Starbase, South Texas.
Both tests involved only one of the launcher vehicle's Raptor engines. Today on August 31, 2022 local time, SpaceX upped the test by powering three Raptor engines on a prototype Super Heavy for about five seconds at 2:03 p.m. local time.
Something is on fire at the Starbase launch complex after today's engine testing: pic.twitter.com/8ZAHubHCL7
— Starship Gazer (@StarshipGazer) July 11, 2022
This 'static fire' test is part of ongoing preparations for the Starship's first orbital test flight. SpaceX is preparing for the first orbital test flight of the Starship, a fully reusable vehicle consisting of a massive booster called the Super Heavy and the 50-meter-tall Starship spacecraft.
Both elements will be powered by SpaceX's next-generation Raptor engines, 33 for the Super Heavy and six for the Starship. Ongoing preparations include "static fire" tests of the Booster 7 and Ship 24, two prototypes of which will conduct future test flights.
The NASASpaceflight website livestreamed the test, and footage from the footage shows that only two engines might be fully on, while a third might be aborted. Regardless of whether the third Raptor joins or not, it is still SpaceX's first multi-engine Super Heavy static engine test.
Boca Chica's Rocket Ranch also captured imagery of the testing SpaceX conducted today. The prototype starship Ship 24 has carried out such tests before; it powered two of its six Raptors during a static engine test on August 9, 2022.
Static fire testing will likely continue to escalate, SpaceX adding more engines to the mix. Things will continue to develop, of course watching Booster 7 fire up all 33 Raptors for the first time will be quite an interesting event.
There is no exact schedule for all of these tests, but we should expect quick moves. SpaceX tends to move fast, and the company appears to be aiming to launch Booster 7 and Ship 24 in the next few months.