SpaceX Starship gets green light after engine test

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SpaceX's exciting Starship prototype, also known as "Starhopper", has made further progress in its development, starting for the first time. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, says the captive test It was a success.

RELATED: SPACEX PREPARING FOR THE FIRST FLIGHT OF STARSHIP TEST THIS WEEK

The Starhopper became hot and heavy Wednesday as its engines were launched for just under a minute at the SpaceX Boca Chica launch site in Texas. In the documentation of the event, the Starhopper looks like a surreal shiny ball surrounded by a powerful ring of fire.

Musk gives the green light

Elon Musk confirmed that the test went well with a brief Twitter post saying simply: "Starhopper ended in captive mode. All systems are ecological. "There is not a lot of information available on the Starhopper test. However, reports from Ars Technica indicate that the last engine ignition is just one of the many tests that Spacex engineers have done recently.

Other tests include analyzing the cryogenic properties of fuel tanks, charging oxygen fuel and liquid methane into the vehicle and removing the propellant.

Musk and SpaceX view the spacecraft as the vehicle that will send humans to Mars and the Moon. It was only in January that the first glimpses of the Starship prototype were revealed, and there has been a lot of news since. Including when the retro-inspired spaceship was knocked down by strong winds in January.

Starship inspires a generation

Musk reported that the moorings holding the ship down broke in high winds 50 miles to the hour. The fairing suffered the greatest damage and at the time, it took weeks to repair it. But the repairs seem to have been completed in time and the spaceship, which looks like a cartoon, is certainly ready for its next steps.

Looking at the images of the ship, it is hard to believe that this beautiful object is able to travel in the depths of space. Most of this visual impact comes from the stainless steel body that it sports.

Some SpaceX fans and observers have expressed concerns about why SpaceX chose stainless steel instead of lighter materials, such as carbon fiber, aluminum or titanium, which are more expensive. However, Musk explained that the choice was deliberate considering the fact that this rocket will make a lot of re-entries and that it must therefore withstand a lot of heat.

SpaceX engineers are stalling

Of course, the material is not your average stainless steel either. SpaceX engineers have created a new alloy, specially developed to withstand the rigors of space. Elon Musk did not hide his desire to bring humans into space and, with the Starhopper, he really enhanced the public's ability to track the progress of the project.

At each stage, SpaceX and Musk put all their achievements at the disposal of the witnesses via social media. It's a totally new direction for space exploration in every sense of the word.

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