SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently announced that Starship’s fourth integrated flight test, IFT-4, could be just days away.
With that important milestone just around the corner, SpaceX has seemingly faced a fiery setback. Footage from NASASpaceflight shows a massive explosion during a Raptor engine test.
SpaceX’s explosive Raptor engine test
SpaceX has yet to provide an update on the explosion, which took place at its Boca Chica Starbase facilities in southern Texas. The footage shows SpaceX’s engine test pad going up in flame.
The footage started a little after 4:12 pm local time. Roughly 14 seconds after ignition, the Raptor engine shut off. As the vapor surrounding the test tower dissipated, a fire appeared to start underneath the engine. These flames traveled upwards, causing a second explosion to engulf the entire tower.
In a tweet accompanying a clip from the footage, NASASpaceflight wrote, “The raptor testing stand at McGregor experienced an anomaly a few moments ago. The vapors from the anomaly caused a secondary explosion on the test stand.”
Earlier this month, SpaceX also experienced a small anomaly during a test on the Starship upper stage.
There is no indication so far that the latest incident will push back the launch of SpaceX’s IFT-4 test flight. SpaceX always puts Raptor engines through qualification tests before attaching them to Starship, and it has plenty to spare.
Testing the world’s most powerful rocket
SpaceX’s fully reusable Starship is the world’s most powerful rocket thanks to 33 Raptor engines attached to the Super Heavy first stage.
The Raptor engines that are currently undergoing testing are SpaceX’s Raptor 2 engines. These feature higher thrust and a few design tweaks over the previous iteration.
In 2022, Elon Musk stated that the Raptor 2 engines will have 230 tons or ~500k lbs of thrust at sea level. He also said the newest version costs roughly half as much to manufacture as the previous model, V1.5, and it is “much more reliable” and powerful.
On its last flight test, IFT-3, Starship finally reached orbital velocity and it soared around Earth before crashing down into the Indian Ocean. On the next flight, SpaceX aims to perform a reentry burn, allowing Starship to perform a soft landing in the ocean.
SpaceX could fly Starship as many as nine times this year. The private space firm is looking to amend its current agreement with the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), allowing it to fly more times. This would allow it to speed up its Starship development and fulfill its contract with NASA for a modified Starship lunar lander that will send humans back to the Moon.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Chris Young Chris Young is a journalist, copywriter, blogger and tech geek at heart who’s reported on the likes of the Mobile World Congress, written for Lifehack, The Culture Trip, Flydoscope and some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including NEC and Thales, about robots, satellites and other world-changing innovations.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
