[ad_1]
The last SpaceX Starship the prototype needs some maintenance before it can take off.
On Wednesday (January 13), the Starship SN9 prototype performed three “static fire” tests in rapid succession at SpaceX’s South Texas site, firing its three Raptor engines while the vehicle remained anchored to the ground.
These brief burns were part of the pre-flight routine of SN9, which is being prepared for a high altitude test. This big jump could have happened as early as this weekend, if the static fires on Wednesday had gone perfectly. But there were apparently a few hiccups.
Starship and Super Heavy: Pictures of SpaceX vehicles colonizing Mars
“Two of the engines require minor repairs, so they will be taken out of service,” said Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX said via Twitter early this morning (January 15).
Musk did not give a target launch date for SN9. But he said, in another tweet, that it is “probably wise” to make another static fire with the vehicle after the engine replacement is complete. A weekend launch for SN9 therefore seems rather unlikely.
SpaceX is developing Starship to transport people and goods to the Moon, Mars, and other distant destinations. The architecture consists of a 165-foot-tall (50-meter) spacecraft called the Starship and a giant rocket known as the Super Heavy. Both of these vehicles will be fully and quickly reusable, Musk said.
SN9’s next flight is expected to be similar to that of its predecessor, the three-engine SN8, which flew about 12.5 kilometers into the sky over Texas on December 9. This flight, the first high altitude test for a prototype spacecraft, went extremely well, Musk said, even if SN8 did not hold its landing.
Mike Wall is the author of “Over there“(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book on the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link