SpaceX has taken another step towards the first orbital test of its massive Starship. On February 9th, the company conducted a full-duration static fire test for the Starship prototype known as Booster 7. The test was carried out at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas.
The test was highly anticipated as the company has previously announced that the first orbital test of the starship is expected to take place in March of this year. However, the test was not carried out as planned. The goal was to fire all 33 engines of the Raptor engine but only 31 engines fired.
Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, took to Twitter to address the situation. He stated that “Team turned off 1 engine just before start & 1 stopped itself, so 31 engines fired overall. But still enough engines to reach orbit!”
Despite not firing all 33 engines, the static fire test was a crucial step towards the first orbital test. The test lasted for about seven seconds and Booster 7 emerged from the cloud of dust in one piece, which is a positive outcome.
Once operational, the starship is expected to be the most powerful rocket ever built. The vehicle consists of two elements, Super Heavy and starship, both of which are designed to be fully reusable and powered by the next-generation Raptor engine.
