#Spacex news full#
#Spacex news plus#

Most notably, engineers and technicians have installed a large water deluge system and performed what appeared to be a successful test of it on July 28. SpaceX has made considerable progress since the April 20 launch attempt, which caused serious damage to the company's Orbital Launch Mount and associated ground hardware in South Texas. However, the fact that this latest test took place on a Sunday-SpaceX can only close the road leading to its launch site and Boca Chica Beach on a few weekend days per year-indicates there is some sense of urgency with this launch campaign. This debut launch attempt, on April 20, failed after engine issues and other problems doomed the flight of the booster stage.

For the sake of comparison, a period of 70 days elapsed between the static fire test of Booster 7, which powered the first Starship launch, and its liftoff. It is not known whether SpaceX plans to perform additional tests of this booster or gleaned enough data on Sunday to press ahead with a launch attempt this fall.Īccordingly, it is also not clear how far SpaceX is from a second Starship launch attempt.

#Spacex news full#

A full stack of the rocket includes the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage. A step forwardĮven so, Sunday's testing marked a step forward for SpaceX, bringing the company closer to a second launch of its Starship vehicle. This rocket is powered by 'Raptor 2' engines, and SpaceX is working on an upgraded 'Raptor 3' version to address reliability. This indicates that SpaceX is still struggling with the reliability of its Raptor engines despite intense work to improve their performance. Moreover, four of the rocket's 33 main Raptor engines shut down prematurely. It ended after 2.74 seconds, according to SpaceX's webcast, short of the planned five seconds. However, the test did not run a full duration. Also on the positive side of the ledger, the company's radically rebuilt ground systems, with an enhanced water suppression system, appeared to function well in protecting the rocket and the launch pad.

#Spacex news plus#

On the plus side, the rocket-dubbed Booster 9, as it is the ninth to be built as part of SpaceX's iterative design methodology-survived the test and appeared to be in good shape afterward. The ignition of 33 engines proved to be a spectacle, and there were positives and negatives to be taken away from the short-duration test firing. They are hardware rich, meaning they've got a lot of those rockets ready to go, and that's their modus operandi - they launch, if something goes wrong they figure out what it is, they go back and they launch it again,' Nelson said.Īs with any rocket-development program, and especially the largest ever assembled, SpaceX's timeline for the next Starship flight is likely to evolve and change.SpaceX on Sunday performed a static fire test of a new Super Heavy booster at its launch site in South Texas. 'Now understand that the explosion, that's not a big downer in the way SpaceX does things. Nelson touted as much before members of Congress, explaining how the company approaches rocket development differently than the space agency. Thanks to the many enthusiasts who livestream every minute of SpaceX's work in South Texas, it's apparent the company has as many as 10 further Starship prototypes in various stages of assembly, as well as up to seven more Super Heavy boosters. The company had planned to launch the first Starship and Super Heavy booster flight as early as summer 2021, but president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said recently that the inaugural flight was delayed in part because the company was focused on developing 'the production systems that will build the ship.' The company has expanded its 'Starbase' facility steadily over the past few years. One piece of SpaceX's second attempt is already largely in place: the production pipeline for another Starship prototype. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit