SpaceX will soon conduct a static fire test of the super heavy booster test machine "Booster 3" used to launch the spacecraft Starship into orbit.
This test is an important step in validating and validating the booster design for the first orbital flight of the Starship system later this year. As planned, the exam will take place on July 15th between 12:00pm and 10:00pm. It's been about two months since the last Starship-related test launch, and in the meantime SpaceX has built a huge launch pad to allow Starships to be launched on Super Heavy boosters. . There are also several additional tanks to supply the giant rocket with liquid oxygen and methane.
Your privacy settings do not allow this content. Change your settings hereThe Booster 3 is the first prototype we hope to see in a real test burn, and it moved to the launch pad in early July. The fuel tank has already passed the cryogenic pressure test. This Booster 3, which looks as tall as the Starship itself, has three Raptor rocket engines added to it this week, and the people of Boca Chica who live nearby could fire the engines as early as July 15th. is reported.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that if the Booster 3 ground firing tests go well, they will launch the Booster 4, which is currently being assembled.
Booster 3 is equipped with 3 Raptor engines, but this booster will eventually be equipped with 33 Raptor engines. In parallel, SpaceX has already completed Starship SN20, aka “Ship 20”. This new Starship prototype, unlike its predecessors, will have the ability to ascend into space and then return to Earth.
All of this work is for Super Heavy and Starship test flights. The test flight, which is scheduled to take place as early as August, will see the Starship launch and after approximately one orbit, it will land "in a controlled manner" off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. As of May, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had not yet issued approval for a test launch of Booster 3. Therefore, SpaceX needs to obtain the permission by the test launch in August. Of course, before that, it is important that the ground combustion test this time go smoothly.
Source: Elon Musl (Twitter)
via Ars Technica