Tag: Starship
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SpaceX completes successful hot fire test of its massive Starship rocket
SpaceX conducted a second hot fire test of its Super Heavy booster on Friday afternoon, likely taking a key step toward the next launch of its massive new rocket. A few minutes after the test firing, SpaceX founder Elon Musk characterized it as “successful” on the social media network formerly known as Twitter. SpaceX later…
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Starship Update: Booster 9 wearing a crown, construction, and HLS test article
Preparations are taking place at Starbase for the upcoming second Starship test flight, with Booster 9 expected to return to the launch site in the coming days following the installation of its hot staging ring. Future vehicles are also being prepared for flight. At the same time, long-term aspirations are being worked on, with an…
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Let the review begin—SpaceX takes another step toward launching Starship again
The Federal Aviation Administration is now reviewing a mishap investigation report submitted by SpaceX regarding the company’s April test flight of its giant Starship rocket, a spokesperson for the regulatory agency said Tuesday. The milestone is noteworthy because it signals SpaceX has completed its investigation into the Starship test launch on April 20, which ended…
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Booster 9 removed from launch site ahead of hot stage ring tests
After the Static Fire of what appears to be 29 Raptor engines below Booster 9, SpaceX rolled back the first stage of the next flight test to the production site. Meanwhile, the hot staging extension is still at the Masseys test site as the company gets ready to test the most significant modification between flights…
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SpaceX conducts a mostly successful test of its Super Heavy booster
SpaceX on Sunday performed a static fire test of a new Super Heavy booster at its launch site in South Texas. The ignition of 33 engines proved to be a spectacle, and there were positives and negatives to be taken away from the short-duration test firing. On the plus side, the rocket—dubbed Booster 9, as…
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Starship Booster 9 and launch infrastructure moving into critical testing phase
After last week’s testing of Booster 9, the water deluge system, and other important activity at Starbase, the Starship program is now moving into a critical testing phase where Booster 9 conducted a static test firing of the Raptor engines with the water deluge in use. The Spin Prime test requirement – completed on Friday…
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Rocket Report: Starbase comes alive again; China launches four times
Welcome to Edition 6.04 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX has a Super Heavy booster on the launch pad in Texas a lot sooner than many thought. There was some pretty extensive damage at the launch site in the aftermath of the Starship test launch in April, but SpaceX made quick work with repairs and upgrades…
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Rocket Report: Starbase comes alive again; China launches four times
Welcome to Edition 6.04 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX has a Super Heavy booster on the launch pad in Texas a lot sooner than many thought. There was some pretty extensive damage at the launch site in the aftermath of the Starship test launch in April, but SpaceX made quick work with repairs and upgrades…
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SpaceX teases another application for Starship
You’ve probably heard about SpaceX’s plans to use its giant new Starship vehicle to land people on the Moon and Mars, send numerous Starlink satellites or large telescopes into space, or perhaps even serve as a high-speed point-to-point terrestrial transport for equipment or people. There’s another application for SpaceX’s Starship architecture that the company is…
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SpaceX focuses on launch site readiness ahead of Starship Flight 2
Progress toward the second flight of the world’s most powerful launch vehicle continues to take place at Starbase. With Ship 25 passing its six-engine Static Fire test, the focus has returned to completing upgrades to the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM), with the installation of a steel plate water deluge system now taking place. That will…