SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the Break-Things-and-Iterate-Past-the-Failures dept.
Starship chilled. Starship pressurized. And for the first time, it didn't explode:
This marks an important moment in the Starship program. Since November 2019, the company has lost three full-scale Starship prototypes during cryogenic and pressure tests. The most recent failure came on April 3. This is the first time a vehicle has survived pressure testing to advance to further work. Such tests are designed to ensure the integrity of a rocket's fueling system prior to lighting an engine.
SN4 passed cryo proof! pic.twitter.com/EJakThZRGF
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2020
Now, Musk said, SpaceX engineers will attach a single Raptor engine to this vehicle and conduct a static fire test. The company hopes to move forward with this test later in the week.
Should the static fire test be successful, Musk has said the SN4 vehicle will make a 150-meter "hop" test, much as the "Starhopper" prototype performed in August 2019. The company has yet to receive regulatory approval for this test, so it may not happen for several weeks.
SpaceX already has fabricated most of the parts for its SN5 vehicle, which may be the first prototype to attempt a higher flight. Musk said, if all goes well with SN4, the plan is to attach three Raptors to SN5 for a higher flight test later this spring.
(Score: 1) by leon_the_cat on Wednesday April 29 2020, @05:58PM (1 child)
if a spaceship explodes you get a do-over and go back in time to prevent it happening. So God only knows how many times this thing has exploded.
(Score: 2) by Kitsune008 on Wednesday April 29 2020, @08:07PM
Yeah, but what's going on under the hood when you do the time travel bit, it's just reloading that instance of your rocket in Kerbal Space Program. Basically just reloading a save point.
I know this is true, because I met a dude when I was in the Army, that looked just like a kerbal. Freaked me out the first time I loaded KSP, and saw his whole damn family!