SpaceX wrapped up 2023 on Friday (September 29) with an intense dual test of its upcoming Starship mega-rocket booster and spacecraft, sharing a surprising video of both rockets in the process.
Dual tests of engines on the giant Starship and Super Heavy rocket stages at SpaceX’s Starbase Proving Ground in Boca Chica, Texas, on Friday marked the company’s third Starship launch scheduled for early 2024. This was done in preparation for the test.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: “We just completed the static launch of the third super-heavy booster.” I wrote to X (Old Twitter) Friday. The test, which lasted about 10 seconds, successfully ignited all 33 Raptor engines in the Super Heavy booster, which serves as the first stage of the Starship rocket, the world’s largest and most powerful booster.
Static fire in 33 Raptor engines of Super Heavy before the third flight pic.twitter.com/rJqNToMCnUDecember 29, 2023
SpaceX’s X official account Confirmed that the test was successful Testing of Super Heavy Booster 10 and a separate test of one Raptor engine from Starship Ship 28, which will be mounted on top of Super Heavy Booster 10 during an upcoming test flight. The Starship test was aimed at demonstrating the ability to restart the Raptor engine in space, the company said.
“Ignition of one Raptor engine in Astronaut 3 demonstrates flight-like start-up for combustion in space,” SpaceX said. I wrote it on the X post.
SpaceX launched two Starship test flights in 2023, first in April and then in November, but both test flights carried the ultra-heavy first stage rocket around the Earth near Hawaii. It was not successful in achieving its goal of landing in the Pacific Ocean. It flew into the Gulf of Mexico.
Related: SpaceX’s second Starship launch is amazing with stunning photos and video
Flight 3 Starship’s single Raptor engine ignition demonstrating flight-like start-up for combustion in space pic.twitter.com/BCv6iIUnagDecember 29, 2023
During a test launch in April, Starship and the superheavy booster failed to separate as planned, and SpaceX intentionally detonated the rocket four minutes after liftoff. The test also destroyed a large portion of SpaceX’s Starship launch pad, requiring extensive repairs.
The second test flight, called Flight 2, demonstrated several major successes, including successful stage separation and successful combustion of the first stage engine. However, the Starship’s upper stage experienced an event that activated its automatic flight termination system and exploded approximately eight minutes after takeoff. The first stage also exploded shortly after stage separation.
SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy megarockets are designed to be completely reusable and will one day send astronauts to the moon. NASA is using Starship to land Artemis 3 astronauts on the moon, and SpaceX has already booked private flights around the moon with several customers.
When stacked, Starship and its superheavy boosters will rise nearly 400 feet (122 meters) tall, making it the largest rocket ever built. It is also designed to be the most powerful, capable of carrying up to 165 tons (150 metric tons) of cargo into low Earth orbit.
SpaceX hopes to begin Flight 3 testing of its Starship system soon, but it’s unclear exactly when that will happen. The company must wait for permission to launch from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is overseeing the investigation into the second plane. The FAA will likely not grant permission to launch Unit 3 until the investigation is complete and SpaceX takes any necessary corrective actions. If any.
Friday’s Starship and Super Heavy engine tests came a day after an epic rocket launch doubleheader that capped off the company’s inaugural year.
On Thursday (December 28), SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy rocket carrying a robotic X-37B spaceplane for the U.S. Space Force from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by a Falcon 9 rocket ( (Equipped with 23 Starlink satellites) was launched from a rocket. A little less than three hours later, we arrived near Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.