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WASHINGTON – SpaceX has begun initial testing of the first prototype of its Starship launch vehicle at its South Texas test site.
The vehicle, nicknamed "Starhopper", briefly launched its only Raptor engine during a test on the platform, followed by a second test on April 5th. In both cases, the engine only started for a few seconds and the vehicle, attached to the ground, lifted off the ground for a very short distance.
"Starhopper has completed the jumping of obstacles. All green systems, " Musk tweeted April 3 after the initial test. He posted a two-second video after the second test, on April 6, showing the engine running and the vehicle, largely obscured by the engine plume, appearing to lift slightly from the cushion. "Starhopper just climbed and reached the limits of the clip!" He said after the second test.
Starhopper has just risen and reached its limits! pic.twitter.com/eByJsq2jiw
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 6, 2019
Starhopper is a prototype of Starship, intended to be the top floor of the new generation, fully reusable SpaceX launcher. The vehicle under test is only the lower part, which houses engines, propellant tanks and landing gear. An upper part, consisting of a nose cone, was damaged during a storm at the Texas site earlier this year. SpaceX has decided not to repair it because this vehicle is not needed for the planned low altitude test flights.
The vehicle will later perform a series of free flights to test its ability to take off and land vertically. In a license application sent to the Federal Communications Commission last November, SpaceX announced that it was planning a series of flight tests of the vehicle, which initially was to reach 500 meters and then 5,000 meters. The rising and falling nature of these tests led the vehicle to be dubbed a "hopper" and, later, Starhopper.
The test flights attracted the attention of locals and space flight enthusiasts, some of whom visited the site on the Gulf Coast near Brownsville, Texas, to try to cast a look at the vehicle and its flight tests. The webcams regularly follow the activity on the site despite the last test of the end of April 5, a thick fog that made it difficult to distinguish the flash from the engine Starhopper when shooting briefly.
Neither Musk nor SpaceX have divulged specific schedules for upcoming test flights. Prior to the April 5 test, SpaceX filed temporary flight restrictions with the Federal Aviation Administration in the airspace immediately surrounding the test site, at an altitude of 300 meters for several hours each day from the 5th to the 7th. April. After the April 5 test, SpaceX had withdrawn airspace restrictions from the FAA for April 6-7.
Musk said last month that work was already underway on the second prototype of the spacecraft, able to reach the orbit. Finally, SpaceX will associate Starship with a call floor called Super Heavy to place large payloads in orbit. These vehicles are also the cornerstone of SpaceX's plans to establish a human presence on Mars as early as the 2020s.
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