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SpaceX Completes Static Fire of Starship Prototype, Will Hop Next

posted by Fnord666 on Friday July 31 2020, @09:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-a-bunny-hop dept.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

SpaceX completes static fire of Starship prototype, will hop next:

After scrubbing several attempts for weather concerns, technical issues, and even a range violation due to a nearby boat, SpaceX succeeded in static-fire testing the latest prototype of its Starship vehicle on Thursday.

At 3:02pm local time in South Texas, the single Raptor engine attached to the Starship prototype dubbed Serial Number 5, or SN5, roared to life for a few seconds. In video shared by NASASpaceflight.com, the test appeared to be nominal, evidently providing SpaceX engineers with the confidence they need in the latest iteration of Starship.

Starship SN5 just completed full duration static fire. 150m hop soon.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2020

Shortly after the test, the founder and chief engineer of SpaceX, Elon Musk, confirmed that the static fire meant the company now plans to move forward with a short test flight of the vehicle. Based upon a notification from the US Federal Aviation Administration, this 150-meter flight test could take place as soon as Sunday, with a launch window opening at 8am local time (13:00 UTC).

Previously:
(2020-04-28) Starship Chilled. Starship Pressurized. and for the First Time, It Didn't Explode
(2020-04-03) SpaceX Almost Ready to Start Testing SN3 -- The Third Starship Prototype
(2019-11-21) Starship Prototype Mk1 Fails During Propellant Tank Loading Test: Onwards to Mk3
(2019-08-28) SpaceX's Starhopper Completes 150 Meter Test Hop

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday July 31 2020, @10:05AM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Friday July 31 2020, @10:05AM (#1029184) Journal

    SN8 is made of 304L stainless steel and will likely get 3 Raptor engines for a 20 km test flight.

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