Africa-Press – Cape verde. SpaceX for the first time test-fired 31 Raptor engines of its Starship super heavy booster rocket, marking a first for the company in its bid toward a first-ever orbital test flight.
SpaceX conducted the test on Thursday afternoon from Starbase, Texas, representing a key milestone test before it attempts to launch the rocket into orbit in early March as previously expected. SpaceX has said it plans to use the Starship spacecraft to send humans to Mars.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk explained in a statement that only 31 of the 33 engines were fired after the team turned one engine off just before the ignition test. One other engine stopped by itself.
However, despite the hiccup, Musk said 31 engines is enough to launch the rocket into orbit.
Officials noted the static fire lasted for about seven seconds, and that the Booster 7 successfully managed to make it out of the testing in one piece after being enveloped in a massive dust cloud.
The Thursday test was the last technical feat the company needed to overcome before officially preparing for its highly-anticipated March launch attempt.S
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