SpaceX is one of the few space agencies hoping to reach Mars someday with its sophisticated space vehicles. The American aerospace company has continued to prepare its Mars Starships for its first orbital test flight which will be commencing soon. On November 29, SpaceX conducted a static fire test at its South Texas facility on the multiple Raptor engines of the Booster 7. The Booster 7 was built to serve as a prototype of Starship’s first-stage Super Heavy rocket. Why did SpaceX perform the test? Will Elon Musk succeed in reaching Mars with his Starships? Continue reading to learn more.
Why SpaceX performed the Static Fire Test on The Starship for Orbital test flight coming soon
After the Federal Aviation Administration have given SpaceX about 75 mitigation actions to meet before commencing with the orbital test flight during the past few months, the aerospace company has been working tirelessly to meet these needs. As SpaceX continues to work towards meeting the needs, it has continued to prepare its starships ahead of the forthcoming test flight which Elon says may be coming up before the end of the year.
The American Aerospace company often perform static fire test on its starship to ensure that the proportion of the Booster’s Raptor engines is in good condition. During November 29 static fire test, which occurred at 2:42 p.m. EST (1942 GMT), SpaceX lit up about 11 of Booster 7’s 33 Raptor engines. A video captured by NASASpaceFlight showed the powerful nature of the static fire test. The test which lasted for 13 seconds proved that Booster 7’s Raptor engines are in a healthy state. SpaceX confirmed the outcome of the testing with this tweet.
The last time that SpaceX conducted static fire for Booster 7 was on November 14 when the agency lit up 14 Raptors of the Booster. After that test, Elon Musk announced that his company will perform one or two extra static fires with its Booster 7 before commencing on the first orbital test flight.
During the orbital test flight, SpaceX is hoping to launch Ship 24 atop Booster 7. The company has already tested the six Raptors powering the Starship 24 during September 8 static fire. If SpaceX commences with the Orbital test flight before the end of the year, its Starship will take over the title of the most powerful rocket to ever fly from NASA’s SLS megarocket currently holding the title.
Will Elon Musk succeed in reaching Mars with his Starships?
Elon Musk is one of the most talented geniuses we have in the 21st century. The Tech billionaire is literally getting himself involved in almost every industry to improve the standard of life on Earth and make humans multiplanetary civilization. In fact, making humans space-faring species has remained one of his top goals since he founded SpaceX in 2002. Upon succeeding in building space vehicles that reach space and the international space station, the tech billionaire commenced building starships to send humans and payloads to Mars.
SpaceX, his aerospace company has succeeded in building several starships with the potential of traveling millions of Miles of radiating space and safely delivering astronauts to Mars. However, they are yet to commence with the Orbital test flight as they are still working towards meeting FAA demands and preparing the Starships for the test. Elon Musk has remained optimistic about launching the Starship for Orbital test flight before the end of the year. If the Orbital test flight records great success, SpaceX will begin to prepare for the distanced trip to Mars. With the effort made so far, Elon Musk is optimistic about reaching Mars someday in the future. He celebrated the outcome of the November 29 static fire with this tweet.
Conclusion
NASA has already entrusted its Artemis 3 and 4 Lunar Landers to SpaceX. The company is currently developing Starship to carry people and cargo to the moon for NASA. If they successfully reach the moon, NASA may lightly partner with SpaceX to build starships that will take humans and cargo to Mars someday in the future. What are your thoughts on SpaceX starships reaching Mars someday starting with its Orbital Test Flight?
