Elon Musk’s space technology company SpaceX has performed a significant test on its enormous new Starship rocket system.
At the base of the vehicle’s lower segment, engineers ignited 31 of 33 engines in a procedure known as a “static fire.”
With everything cinched down to prevent movement, the firing only lasted a few seconds.
When Starship takes its first flight, it will surpass all previous operational rocket systems in terms of strength. Assuming SpaceX is pleased with the results of Thursday’s test, this might take place in the upcoming weeks.
At SpaceX’s research and development center at Boca Chica, close to the Texas/Mexico border, a static fire occurred.
Elon Musk said on Twitter that the team had turned off one engine before the test, and another engine had shut off by itself, leaving a total of 31 engines running.
But there were “still enough engines to reach orbit,” he continued.
Even though this was not the entire contingent of engines, the number of engines that were cooperating was noteworthy. The N1 rocket, which the Soviets designed in the late 1960s to transport cosmonauts to the Moon, is perhaps the closest analogue.
It had two rings of 30 engines each. But all four of the N1’s flights ended up being cancelled because of failures.
With all 33 of its contemporary power units operating, the SpaceX Super Heavy rocket should launch with about 70% higher thrust than the N1. The capability being put into Starship dwarfs even the new Space Launch System (SLS), a mega-rocket from the US space agency NASA that had its maiden flight back in November.
Musk has great expectations for the car. The businessman intends to utilise it to launch satellites and humans into space and beyond.
For its Artemis mission, which aims to send men back to the Moon, NASA has already hired SpaceX to develop a version.
Musk himself is concentrating on Mars. He has always had the desire to visit the Red Planet, to build cities there, and to transform mankind into “a multi-planet species.” Point-to-point travel, which whisks travelers quickly from one end of our earth to the other, has also been discussed.
Not just because of the amount of weight it will be able to launch into space, Starship will revolutionise the game if it can be made to function.
The idea is intended to be completely recyclable, with both the Super Heavy booster and the aircraft on top returning to Earth to fly repeatedly.
This implies that it might fly similarly like an aeroplane. In comparison to conventional, one-time-use rockets, there would be enormous long-term financial savings.
Now that it has analysed its data, SpaceX will try to determine why it wasn’t able to fire all 33 engines this time. Additionally, it will examine the launch pad to determine whether the brief firing caused any damage. The concrete underneath the launch mount had cracked during earlier, smaller-scale engine tests, requiring repairs.
Musk has mentioned attempting to orbit the entire Starship system in late February or early March.
For the test on Thursday, the ship, or upper stage of the rocket, was taken out in case the booster failed disastrously.
