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Yesterday we wrote about how SpaceX would try one today static fire with 33 Raptor 2 engines from Super Heavy (Starship’s main stage). A fundamental test to collect data in view of the first launch of the new heavy carrier of Elon Musk’s company which aims to revolutionize the space market much more than what it managed to do with the Falcons (both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy).
The announcement was made directly by Gwynne Shotwell (president and COO of the company) and after the success of the Wet Dress Reharsal performed some time before, it was the natural next step towards the first space (and later orbital) flights. Shortly after 22:00 today, Italian time, the test was carried out successfully as reported by the company in a tweets following. Good news for the development of Starship but also for the Artemis program (considering that with a modified Starship the astronauts will set foot on the Moon again, perhaps in 2025).
SpaceX: success for the static fire with 33 Super Heavy engines
As written above, it static fire of the 33 Raptor 2 engines Of super heavy (in particular it concerns Booster 7) was a decisive moment. Turning on 33 engines in unison, even if for a few seconds, is a complex engineering challenge that always has uncertain results. After all, not carrying it out means risking the integrity of the whole space rocket and land structures. The data collected by SpaceX during the test they will be able to help understand if the system is actually ready for launch or if further modifications are needed. Elon Musk then added with a tweets following the end of today’s test, 31 engines were actually used. This is because one engine was deactivated by the team shortly before ignition, while another one shut down independently. Even under these conditions, with 31 out of 33 engines, Starship could still reach orbit.
A spectacular photo by Nic Ansuini (source)
For this the Road map towards the first launch (from Texas to Hawaii) does not yet have a precise timing. The same Elon Musk he had stated in the past that at such a late stage in development, a failure would set the company back months (with consequent losses in terms of resources).
The same Shotwell he had stated just a few hours ago that he does not expect any damage to the launch pad as happened in the past (thanks to the changes made in the meantime). There are for other considerations made by the top executive of SpaceX which could outline what will be the development of Starship (and therefore of Ship and Super Heavy).
Indeed, the president stated that Starship want at least 100 times before it can house humans. It must be considered that a minimum deadline could be the Artemis III mission currently planned for the second half of 2025 (although the timing could be optimistic). This means that from when the first flight will take place, probably around March 2023, and thereafter, the launch rate will be decidedly high even if a complete success of all launches is not expected. Shotwell also added that she thinks she can reach 100 flights by 2024.
This precaution is mandatory for several reasons. Starship it will be one of the most complex systems ever designed to leave the earth’s atmosphere and its structure does not provide for a crew evacuation system in case the rocket fails the initial stages of departure (something similar to the Space Shuttle). This means that to ensure adequate safety for the crew it will be necessary to make several attempts and give up NASA the right certainty of success before being able to try a human flight.
In the future there will also be a test for the Starship modified usable as a lunar lander. This will not necessarily have the definitive design but it will be essential to understand if the solutions thought will actually be implementable for Artemis III. With the static fire of today, SpaceX nevertheless marked a milestone in the development of Starship but the first truly great show will be the space launch with the combination of Ship and Super Heavy.
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