The big launcher Spaceship still hasn’t made its first orbital flight, and it’s not its fault SpaceX to multiply checks and tests of all kinds. Yesterday, SpaceX completed the static ignition of 11 Raptor engines Super Heavy Booster 7. Engine firing took place at SpaceX’s base in Texas, and the impressive footage from this static ignition test hints at what it will be like when SpaceX has to test all 33 Raptor engines at once. Just two weeks ago, SpaceX already performed a static ignition test with 14 Raptor engines this time.
After this ominous engine firing, Elon Musk made a point of specifying that there were probably only two tests of the same kind left before programming the first orbital flight of the Starship. The first Starship rocket into orbit could consist of a Super Heavy Booster 7 booster and a Ship 24 (Starship prototype measuring 50 meters tall and equipped with 6 Raptor engines). Note that the engines in Ship 24 have already been successfully tested on September 8th.
For Elon Musk, there is undoubtedly also a bit of ego in the balance: The starship must really do better than the SLS (Space Launch System) from NASA, which is now the largest rocket ever launched into space (November 16, 2022). Eventually, the Starship would make it possible to transport astronauts and equipment to the Moon, and why not much later to Mars.