space x
Update, 4:45 PM ET: I agree.
At approximately 3:15 pm local time in South Texas, SpaceX ignited a Super Heavy rocket for a “whole period” test of the Raptor engine. According to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, the launch team turned off one engine just before ignition and another automatically shut down. said he would have. This is a major milestone for SpaceX and could put the company in orbit for an orbital test flight scheduled for late March or early April.
This is the most engines ever fired in a rocket. The thrust output of these engines was also probably almost double that of NASA’s Saturn 5 rocket or space launch system. The good news for SpaceX is that, at least in the early days, the South Texas launch infrastructure appeared mostly intact.
bring heat 🔥
–@NASA space flight pic.twitter.com/TLeJASNLlV
— Nick Ansuini (@NicAnsuini) February 9, 2023
original post: After years of preparatory work, SpaceX today plans to ignite all 33 main engines of its gigantic Super Heavy Rocket Booster. This is the first stage of the company’s Starship rocket, designed to be fully reusable to help NASA return to the moon and one day help humans settle on Mars.
Never before has there been a rocket with so many engines. The closest comparison is the Soviet Union’s N1 rocket, which had 30 NK-15 liquid-fuel engines in its first stage. However, each of these engines had only about two-thirds the power of the Raptor 2 rocket engine bolted to the Super Heavy rocket.
Oh yeah, N1 is Large scale Failure. The N1 rocket, intended to compete with NASA’s Saturn V rocket and form the backbone of the Soviet lunar program, from 1969 to 1972 he attempted four launches. July 1969 – The launch complex is destroyed as the rocket fails shortly after launch.
Prior to today’s history of SpaceX testing Super Heavy boosters by igniting all of the Raptor engines for a few seconds while the rocket is firmly anchored to the ground.
At the Commercial Space Conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Thursday would be a “big day” for the company. “Remember, this first flight is actually a test flight,” said Shotwell, who is aware of her spaceflight history. “The real goal is not to blow up the launch pad, that’s success.”
In fact, after a rapid testing campaign for Starship prototypes in 2020 and 2021, the company is moving more cautiously at its South Texas development and testing facility known as Starbase. That’s because the company likely invested more than $1 billion in massive launch and capture towers to support Starships and SuperHeavies, as well as ground systems to support fueling the giant vehicles. .
With so many assets clustered in a small area near the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX does not want to risk destroying the infrastructure it has spent over a year building and testing. This will delay the Starship launch campaign by at least a few months as the region is rebuilt. It will also likely double down on regulatory concerns raised as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s process of clearing a location in South Texas for experimental orbital launches.
So Shotwell is right when she says the main goal today is not to blow up the launch pad. work to replace those that indicate .
If this test goes well, SpaceX will be on its way to its first orbital launch attempt. Now he’s more likely in the second half of March or maybe he’s done in April.
The time for today’s test has not been set. The Boca Chica area is closed to traffic from 8:00 AM local time (14:00 UTC) to 8:00 PM local time (Friday 02:00 UTC). It’s also unclear if SpaceX will broadcast the test. However, some streamers (such as NASASpaceflight and LabPadre) are expected to provide uninterrupted coverage of whatever happens on the launch pad.
