SpaceX has given us a couple of more dramatic looks finally week’s Starship engine test.
SpaceX fired up Booster 9 — the most recent prototype of its Starship first stage, referred to as Super Heavy — on Friday (Aug. 25) at its Starbase facility in South Texas. All 33 of Booster 9’s Raptor engines engaged in the course of the static fire test, which lasted for about six seconds.
SpaceX livestreamed the trial, so we got to follow the motion in real time. And on Monday (Aug. 28), the corporate posted two beauty shots on X (formerly Twitter), to further burn the static fire into our memories.
Related: Relive SpaceX’s explosive 1st Starship test in incredible launch photos
Friday’s test was the second such ignition for Booster 9, following an Aug. 6 static fire, which also took place on Starbase’s orbital launch mount.
Booster 9 did higher this time; only 29 Raptors lit up in the course of the first static fire. All 33 engaged on Friday, and 31 of them burned for the total six-second duration, in response to SpaceX.
The 2 tests are a part of the launch prep for Booster 9, which, together with an upper-stage prototype called Ship 25, will conduct the second-ever test flight of a completely stacked Starship vehicle.
The primary such flight occurred on April 20 from Starbase. The goal was to send the upper stage to space and have it come down within the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. But that did not occur; Starship suffered several problems, and SpaceX intentionally destroyed the vehicle 4 minutes after liftoff.
The goals of the second flight might be just like those of the primary, in response to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk.
Musk wants Booster 9 and Ship 25 to fly soon, but no goal date has yet been announced. And SpaceX should have to clear some regulatory hurdles; the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which issues launch licenses, is seemingly still reviewing the mishap report that SpaceX filed concerning the April 20 flight.