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After a few false starts and a few minor delays, SpaceX’s 11th prototype spacecraft (SN11) has passed two of the three major tests that lie between it and takeoff.
SpaceX rolled the Starship SN11 from the factory to the launch pad on March 8, just five days after Starship SN10 briefly became the first prototype of its kind to land in one piece. One or two issues with the final burn of the Raptor landing caused SN11 to land faster than expected and ultimately led to the rocket’s explosive demise about 15 minutes later. Still, the test flight was an almost unequivocal success and apparently left SpaceX more than enough confidence to speed up preparations for the next flight test.
As the next day approached, SpaceX had hoped to launch cryogenic stress testing, but Starship SN11 needed a little more attention than expected and unknown bugs ultimately meant that only a room temperature pressure test could be performed at the end. of the test window. These problems appeared to persist until the end of March 10, preventing any attempt at proof testing.
On March 11, Starship SN11 was able to take its first real test run at cryo proof and was charged with liquid nitrogen (LN2), a cryogenic fluid with a density and temperature similar to liquid oxygen and methane. Starship thruster but without the risk of catastrophic fire or explosion. In about three hours, SpaceX didn’t appear to fully load SN11 with LN2, a possible sign of a technical bug that could just as easily be intentionally part of the test design.
Oddly, parts of the evening tests were different from past cryo tests and there is a slight chance that the activity was actually a static fire attempt long before the ignition, although it is impossible to tell without official confirmation.
Otherwise, the most notable part of the cryo evidence was a test of the Starship SN11’s attitude control system (ACS) that involved firing each of the ship’s multiple cold gas nitrogen thrusters at least 5-10 times to a total of several dozen bursts. The current generation of spacecraft primarily use these thrusters to increase their flaps and perform rollover maneuvers during attempted suborbital launch and landing, while early orbital-class prototypes can use the same thruster system to control their attitude. in the void of space.
If last night’s cryogenic proof test was successful and gave SpaceX the data it needs to keep SN11 healthy, the Starship could potentially attempt its first static Raptor engine fire as early as Friday, March 12. Historically, SpaceX has never statically fired a prototype spacecraft within 12 days of arriving at the launch site, meaning a static fire tomorrow would shatter the previous record by a factor of three. As such, it’s more likely that SN11 will need a day or two and be ready for a static fire attempt as early as Monday, March 15.
Either way, Starship SN11 is undeniably on a faster track than any of its three-engine predecessors and a clean static fire on Friday or Monday would leave a launch next week – SpaceX’s current goal – well at hand.
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