SpaceX has fired up the engines of its new Starship vehicle in preparation for a test flight, likely in the coming months.
The company conducted a “static ignition” on Wednesday (September 18) at its Starbase facility in South Texas, briefly igniting the six Raptor engines on Ship-31, the spacecraft’s upper stage for Starship’s sixth test flight.
SpaceX posted photos and two videos to its X account of a static ignition, a typical pre-launch engine test. Wednesday Night.
The newly tested spacecraft won’t be taking off anytime soon: SpaceX has yet to conduct Starship’s fifth flight, pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which isn’t expected until late November.
The FAA has said it and its partner agencies need more time to evaluate changes SpaceX has made to Starship’s configuration and mission profile for Flight 5, as well as new information about the test’s possible environmental impact. The company and its billionaire founder, Elon Musk, have been unhappy about the delay.
“Flight 5 is built and ready to fly. Flight 6 will be ready to fly before Flight 5 is approved by the FAA!” Musk I said via X last night.In response to SpaceX’s static post.
And last week, SpaceX said:Spaceships are made to flyThe statement, titled “Starship is Not Alive,” expressed frustration with the current state of Starship and regulations applying to the launch industry in general.
Related: According to the FAA, SpaceX’s Starship won’t be cleared to fly again until late November.
SpaceX is developing Starship to help colonize the Moon and Mars and perform a variety of other spaceflight tasks. The fully reusable spacecraft consists of two elements: a first-stage booster called Super Heavy and a 165-foot (50-meter) tall upper stage called Starship, or simply the Ship.
Starship has conducted four test flights so far, in April and November of 2023, and in March and June of this year. The vehicle’s performance has improved with each flight, and SpaceX announced that the latest mission was a complete success.
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