SpaceX Successfully Fires the Starship in a Static Manner

After Ship 29’s successful static fire, SpaceX is steadily moving closer to the fourth flight of Starship.

On sub-orbital pad B at Starbase, Ship 29 ignited all six of its Raptors for almost four seconds, creating a tremendous cloud of dust. When the dust settled, Ship 29 was still standing, with the exception of a few heat shield tiles.

Like they did with Ship 28, SpaceX may carry out another static fire test in which they ignite one Raptor engine to imitate a de-orbit burn. If all goes according to plan, Ship 29’s next big step will be to stack atop Booster 11 for a Wet Dress Rehearsal that will take place closer to the fourth test flight.

President and COO of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell, recently stated that the company is still going over all of the data that was obtained during the third test flight in order to compile an accident report for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA’s Kevin Coleman stated that they did not anticipate any significant findings from the inquiry that would cause the fourth test flight, which might take place as early as May, to be postponed. Coleman stated that no vital safety systems were jeopardized, and they viewed the test flight as a success.

Once back at the Starbase production facility, Booster 4 was disassembled and disposed of in half. When Booster 4 was first transported to the launch pad in March 2021, it was expected to be the first rocket to take off, however due to SpaceX’s quick modifications, the booster was declared inoperable.

There are at least six other known boosters in various stages of manufacture in addition to Booster 11, which is scheduled to perform the fourth test flight. As for the Starships, there are eight that are either built or in development.