SpaceX\u2019s Starship program continues to march through a fluid set of milestones, ranging from a new record number of Raptor engines firing simultaneously, to the anticipated presence of a vehicle on the Starship pad at Florida\u2019s historic LC-39A by the second quarter of 2023.<\/p>\n
Booster 7 achieved the seven-engine static fire test milestone before rolling back to the Production Site for \u201crobustness upgrades.\u201d It is set to return for its pre-launch flow this coming week.<\/p>\n
SpaceX chief engineer Elon Musk also confirmed Starbase would produce the initial vehicles for its KSC launch site, shipped to Florida by barge from Texas, as an interim measure before production comes online at the company\u2019s under-construction Roberts Road facility.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Starship at Starbase<\/p>\n
Booster 7 and Ship 24 continue to be cited as the pairing that will conduct the orbital test flight, with Musk citing the latest schedule as \u201clate next month (October) maybe, but November seems highly likely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schedule clarity will be gained via the upcoming return to Booster 7 from its time back in the Mega Bay (High Bay 2) after it was transported away from its perch on the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) in the middle of September.<\/p>\n
That rollback came after achieving new milestones, not least the most amount of Raptors ever to be fired at the same time. The seven-engine firing was deemed a success by Musk, with rollback to allow for \u201crobustness upgrades ahead of flight\u201d.<\/p>\n
NASA mission updates (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
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