SpaceX has been preparing its SN10 starship for launch in a few days. On 23rd February, the company conducted its first static fire test. This test is to check if the raptor engines are working well and will be able to do the launch. And most often they are conducted more than once just to reconfirm. Similarly, for the SN10 starship, the static firing test was conducted for the 2nd time on 25th February. But why?
Why did the 2nd static fire happen?
Well, apparently the static fire test that happened on 23rd February wasn’t perfect. And some issue was detected with the raptor engines. So, SpaceX swapped out the engine and got it ready for another static fire test. As of now, we don’t actually know if the 2nd static fire test was a success. If yes, then we are very few days behind the test-flight launch of the SN10.
STATIC FIRE! Starship SN10 fires up her three engines after a record Raptor swap turnaround.
The big question is if it was a good test. If so, the launch could be just days away.
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— Chris Bergin – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) February 25, 2021
SpaceX’s SN10 starship
The SN10 will be the successor to the SN9 that crashed during the landing. The ultimate target with these starships is to take humans and cargo to Mars. And I hope that the company is able to achieve that very soon. Both the SN8 and the SN9 did quite well in the pre-flight testing but the landing was a total mess. In the SN8 the company claimed that the low fuel tank pressure caused the crash. While in the SN9 the company claimed that one of the raptor engines didn’t light up properly leading up to what happened.
And the SN10 has a much better chance of landing. Elon claimed a while back that there is a 60% chance that the SN10 could ace the landing. And if that happens it will be a big step forwards towards our goal to reach Mars.
The ultimate goal with the starship
Starship is the next-gen medium for us to travel to outer space. And it is essential for SpaceX to perfect every aspect of it before we visit Mars in it. At the same time, it is also important to know that the final starship will have 6 raptor engines instead of the three in these prototypes. There will also be a Superheavy rocket that will have an even higher 30 raptor engines and will be essential for launching the Starship off Earth. The final starship will be powerful enough to get off Moon and Mars but the gravitational force of Earth is too much for it to beat all by itself.
As of now, this vehicle is the only feasible medium to travel to Mars. We need to consider the huge amounts of Cargo we need to carry there in order to properly colonize the planet and at the same time make it Earth independent. In that way, if something does happen to Earth, Mars can survive on its own.
What are your thoughts on the static firing tests of the SN10 starships? And do you think that unlike the previous iterations this one is going to land perfectly? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like it and share it with your friends.
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