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SpaceX is preparing for the upcoming ninth test flight of its Starship megarocket, marking a significant milestone as the first mission to reuse the Super Heavy first stage booster. Ahead of this ambitious endeavor, the aerospace company conducted a static fire test at its Starbase facility in South Texas, briefly igniting the Super Heavy’s powerful Raptor engines.
SpaceX Conducts Static Fire Test for Starship Flight 9
The static fire test occurred today, April 3rd, at the Starbase location. During the procedure, SpaceX briefly activated a Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor engines while the massive rocket remained anchored to the launch mount. This test is a crucial step in preparing for the next Starship test flight.
Booster Reusability Takes Center Stage
This particular booster is not new to испытательных procedures. “Static fire of the Super Heavy preparing to launch Starship’s ninth flight test. This booster previously launched and returned on Flight 7, and 29 of its 33 Raptor engines are flight proven,” SpaceX announced in a post on X, accompanied by video footage of the engine test.
Recap of Previous Starship Flight Tests
Related: Watch SpaceX Starship explode over Atlantic Ocean on Flight Test 7 (videos)
Flight 7, launched on January 16th, achieved partial success. The Super Heavy booster successfully returned to Starbase and was captured by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms. However, the Starship upper stage, standing at 171 feet (52 meters), experienced a detonation less than ten minutes after launch, resulting in debris falling into the Atlantic Ocean near Turks and Caicos Islands.
Flight 8, which launched on March 6th, followed a similar pattern. Again, the chopsticks caught the Super Heavy booster, but the upper stage suffered another detonation over the Atlantic Ocean.
In both Flight 7 and Flight 8 missions, the upper stage – referred to by SpaceX as Starship, or simply Ship – was intended to perform a soft splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Western Australia, approximately 65 minutes post-liftoff.
Flight 9 will be the inaugural Starship mission to utilize a previously-flown Super Heavy booster. | Credit: SpaceX
Starship’s Significance and Reusability
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Starship represents the largest and most powerful rocket ever constructed. Both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage are designed for complete reusability. SpaceX believes this groundbreaking feature is crucial for making ambitious goals such as Mars colonization and other space exploration endeavors economically viable.
Looking Ahead to Flight 9
To date, none of the eight prior Starship test missions have involved the reuse of a Super Heavy booster or a Starship upper stage. Therefore, Flight 9 is poised to be a landmark mission in the program’s development. SpaceX has yet to announce a target launch date for this highly anticipated flight.