At around 12:30 PM CST (UTC-6), the SpaceX Starship 9 prototype serial number (SN9) ignited the Raptor engines for a second time, followed by igniting another Raptor at 2:22 PM and a third around 3:37 PM .
All three tests were very short, reflecting SN9’s first steady fire, which ended sooner than SpaceX had intended to return on January 6th. In the end, though, the short, fixed fires were apparently intentional according to a vague comment made by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shortly after the first.
Most importantly, this is the first time Start SpaceX has completed – or even tried – two stationary fires in the spacecraft in one day, not to mention two fires in several hours. On its own, the fact that SpaceX was ready to attempt two static fires within two hours really does confirm that the first test was a success, as the company certainly wouldn’t risk the car failing by multiplying the failed or aborted test unless it could determine the root cause on Spot.
For each mask, SpaceX „practices running the engine.“ [today], Thus far resulting in three “starts.” This description reflects the extremely short static fires observed today. The need for a specific ignition-related test on SN9 also appears to indicate that the Starship’s first test may have ended prematurely due to a problem with the Raptor ignition
Finally, less than 90 minutes after the second static shooting of the day, Starship SN9 fired one or more of the three Raptor engines for the third time at around 3:37 PM. Musk quickly confirmed the completion of the third static fire (or at least non-destructive).
Mentioned musk recently SpaceX is now disassembling SN9 to secure the pad and vehicle for inspections. If these inspections finally conclude that the Starship SN9 and three Raptors are in good shape after an unprecedented busy day of steady-fire testing, SpaceX can easily flip the rocket to attempt a launch of 12.5 km (7.8 mi) as early as January 14 or January 15. . .
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