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UPDATE: SpaceX’s latest prototype was successfully launched, but like its previous test flight, the rocket exploded with impact during an attempted landing. Read more here.
SpaceX is preparing to launch the latest prototype of its next generation Starship rocket on Tuesday, in the system’s second high-altitude flight test.
The serial number 9 prototype, or SN9, will fly up to 10 kilometers, or about 32,800 feet in altitude. The flight will be similar to what SpaceX performed in December, when it launched the SN8 prototype on the highest and longest flight to date. The SN8 flight completed several development goals, including testing the aerodynamics of the system and completing a turn to orient itself for landing, but the prototype exploded on impact because the rocket was unable to slow down enough.
SN9 is constructed of stainless steel, with the prototypes representing the first versions of the rocket that CEO Elon Musk unveiled last year. The company is developing the Starship with the aim of launching loads and up to 100 people at a time on missions to the Moon and Mars.
The starship’s SN9 rocket prototype is on the company’s launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas.
SpaceX
Like the SN8, the objective of flight SN9 is not necessarily to reach maximum altitude, but to test several important parts of the starship system. The prototype of the starship is about 150 feet high, or approximately the size of a 15-story building, and is powered by three Raptor rocket engines. SpaceX will fire all three engines for takeoff and then shut them down one at a time in a sequence as it approaches the top of the intended flight altitude.
The SN9 launch attempt was delayed for about a week while SpaceX was working to obtain permission from the Federal Aviation Administration for the launch. Their SN8 flight violated the company’s existing starship license, The Verge first reported and the FAA later confirmed, as the federal aerospace regulator denied a SpaceX request for an exemption from exceeding the maximum public risk permitted by federal safety regulations, the FAA said in a statement.
SpaceX was asked to investigate its non-compliance, forcing Musk’s company to suspend launches until the investigation was completed and the FAA closed.
“The FAA determined on Monday (February 1) that SpaceX complies with all federal safety and related regulations and is authorized to conduct Starship SN9 flight operations under its launch license,” said the FAA.
The main tests for the SN9 flight include shutting down the engines in succession, transferring the propellant from the main tanks to the header, launching for its “belly down” reentry maneuver and controlling its descent through the air with the four rocket flaps.
SpaceX emphasized that “the dynamic development testing schedule” may cause the launch attempt to be delayed, as with previous Starship releases.
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