SpaceX CEO Elon Musk expressed his awe and excitement at Starship’s Raptor engine Friday after a test fire.
What happened: SpaceX posted a 20-second video Friday of a test shot of a Raptor engine being shot into a water-cooled steel plate.
The video shows the engine’s red-hot flame shooting out onto a steel plate, creating a visual spectacle.
Sharing the video, the CEO said, “One hell of a plasma jet!”
Why it matters: SpaceX did that first test launch of Starship In April. The missile exploded less than four minutes after launch, damaging the starbase’s launch pad dust rains about the residents of Port Isabel, Texas.
To explain the impact, Musk said that SpaceX relied on Fondag for the test launch. Although the rocket maker began building a water-cooled steel plate for the launch bracket months ago, Musk said it was not ready in time for launch.
“Wasn’t ready on time and based on static fire data we incorrectly assumed Fondag would survive a single launch,” Musk said. He added that the debris was non-toxic and that the company was not aware of any “significant damage” to the environment from the launch.
SpaceX’s spacecraft, consisting of the Super Heavy rocket and the spacecraft, aims to create a fully reusable transport system for crew and cargo missions to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
The Super Heavy rocket relies on 33 Raptor engines, while the starship has six engines, including three Raptor engines and three Raptor Vacuum engines.
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Continue reading: Starship Raptor engine test stuns Elon Musk: “Didn’t expect it to survive”
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