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SpaceX conducted a second hot-fire test of its Super Heavy booster on Friday afternoon, potentially a major step toward the next launch of its massive new rocket.
A few minutes after the test launch, SpaceX founder Elon Musk described the test as “successful.” on the social network Formerly known as Twitter. SpaceX later confirmed that all 33 Raptor engines ignited during the test, and that all but two of them operated for a full six seconds.
This very heavy rocket, the largest and most powerful rocket ever launched, serves as the first stage of SpaceX’s massive rocket, propelling the spacecraft’s upper stage into orbit.
Friday’s first working stage — dubbed Booster 9, because it’s the ninth to be built as part of SpaceX’s iterative design methodology — underwent its first static fire test on Aug. 6. This hot fire test ended prematurely, after 2.74 seconds. Furthermore, four of the rocket’s 33 Raptor main engines either did not fire or failed prematurely.
Preparing the systems for launch
After this test in early August, the first stage returned to the production site, where it was equipped with a “hot starting ring”. This interstitial stage is located above the first stage and below the upper stage of the spacecraft. This new piece of hardware is intended to facilitate “quick staging,” a tricky maneuver a few minutes into flight at separation stage, where the spacecraft’s upper stage engines ignite before the Super Heavy first stage has completed its combustion.
Booster 9 returned a few kilometers to the launch site this week before its static fire test on Friday. If additional data revisions validate this performance, SpaceX will likely have completed the last major test of the necessary hardware before a second flight of the Starship launch system. The upper stage of the spacecraft, expected to fly on this booster, Ship 25, has previously completed a successful static fire test.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 25, 2023
In addition, the missile’s ground systems appear to be ready. This was a problem during the rocket’s unsuccessful first test flight in April when the lack of a mute system resulted in significant damage, including torn pieces of concrete from the launch pad that rained debris for miles around the Starbase site in South Texas. About four weeks agoSpaceX has successfully tested a new water deluge and flame deflector installed below the Starship launch pad.
A static firing test, like the one that completed Friday, is usually the final rehearsal for a missile before it takes flight. All ground systems operate and propellant handling as a normal launch, following test procedures as if you were flying. It is an opportunity to make sure that the missile and ground systems are working as intended.
You still have some paperwork to do
Given the apparent success of the test, the final significant hurdle standing between SpaceX and the Starship’s second test flight is regulatory. The company must obtain a launch permit from the Federal Aviation Administration, which was reviewing an “accident investigation report” that SpaceX submitted after the test flight in April.
After this report is accepted or modified, the FAA and SpaceX will determine corrective actions the company must take prior to its second test flight to ensure the safety of people, property, and wildlife near the launch site in south Texas, which is surrounded by wetlands and the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX hasn’t set a general launch goal yet for the Starship, and sources indicated that it hasn’t yet received any clear indications from the FAA about when a launch license might be issued. However, it seems reasonable to conclude that the spacecraft’s second launch could take place in two or three weeks from now. Further delays are always possible, and indeed possible.
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