30.1 C
Accra
Monday, December 23, 2024
WorldSpaceX launches the massive Starship rocket engines in a crucial test

Date:

SpaceX launches the massive Starship rocket engines in a crucial test

The starship’s engines may have produced the most thrust ever by a single space rocket during the test.

The engines on the most powerful rocket ever built, which is intended to eventually transport astronauts to the Moon and Mars, have successfully completed a test-firing by SpaceX.

At SpaceX’s Texas base, the 33 Raptor engines on the Starship’s first-stage booster underwent a static fire test on Thursday that appeared to break the previous record for the most thrust ever generated by a single space rocket.

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, claimed that one engine was shut off just before the test began, and another engine shut itself off.

“So 31 engines fired overall,” Musk said in a tweet. “But still enough engines to reach orbit!”

SpaceX said the test lasted its “full duration”.

Giant sheets of orange flames erupted from the base of the rocket and clouds of smoke billowed into the air during the test-firing, which lasted several seconds.

NASA is counting on Starship to ferry astronauts to the surface of the Moon in a few years, linking up with its Orion capsule in lunar orbit. Further down the road, Musk wants to use the mammoth Starships to send people to Mars.

The 69-metre (230 ft) Super Heavy booster was anchored to the ground during the test-firing on Thursday to prevent it from lifting off.

Gwynne Shotwell, the president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, said at a conference in Washington, DC, on Wednesday that if the test was successful, the first orbital launch may take place within the next month or so. That launch, a test mission, would involve lifting off from Texas and landing off the coast of Hawaii.

“It’s really the final ground test that we can do before we light ’em up and go,” Shotwell said.

NASA has picked the Starship capsule to ferry its astronauts to the Moon as part of the Artemis 3 mission, set for 2025 at the earliest.

When mated to its upper-stage Starship spacecraft, the entire vehicle will stand taller than the Statue of Liberty at 120 metres (394 ft) high, forming the centrepiece of Musk’s ambitions to eventually colonise Mars. But plans call for it to first play a leading role in NASA’s renewed human exploration of the Moon.

Spaceflight enthusiasts lauded the engine test, describing it as “a big win” for SpaceX.

SpaceX foresees eventually putting a Starship into orbit and then refuelling it with another Starship so it can continue a journey to Mars or beyond.

Other super heavy rockets under development include Blue Origin’s New Glenn, China’s Long March 9 and Russia’s Yenisei.

Blue Origin, the private space company founded by US tech billionaire Jeff Bezos, was awarded its first interplanetary NASA contract on Thursday to launch a mission next year to study the magnetic field around Mars, NASA said.

Plans call for Blue Origin’s recently developed New Glenn heavy-lift rocket to blast off with NASA’s dual-spacecraft ESCAPADE mission in late 2024 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the agency said.

New Glenn, with a reusable first stage designed to be flown on at least 25 missions, is named for pioneering NASA astronaut John Glenn, who became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962.

Blue Origin has flown previous NASA missions with its smaller, suborbital New Shepard rocket, which can carry research payloads on short, microgravity trips to the edge of space and back.

[forminator_poll id="710479"]

Latest stories

Ghana’s gold production set to increase by 3% in 2025

Ghana's gold production is expected to rise by 3%...

I hope Mahama recognizes and restore back GN Bank – Papa Kwesi Nduom

The Global Chairman of Groupe Nduom, Dr. Papa Kwesi...

Guardiola ready to bid €80M for Kudus – Reports

Manchester City is reportedly preparing to make an €80...

94 dead in Mozambique over Cyclone Chido

Cyclone Chido has caused significant devastation in Mozambique, killing...

Vice President-Elect to handle expenditure after swearing in – Ato Forson assures

Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has assured Ghanaians...

Cedi trading at GHS16.10 to a dollar at major forex bureaus

Ghana's local currency, the cedi, has experienced marginal gains...

Check out the latest prices for petrol and diesel

As the second fuel pricing window for December begins,...

Related stories

Biden grants full pardon to son Hunter amid criminal sentencing

US President Joe Biden has granted a full and...

Court issues 2-year suspended death sentence to former Bank of China Chair for bribery, others

Former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange on Tuesday received...

Ghanaians among UN peacekeepers injured in Southern Lebanon attacks

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has reported...

Russia denies Trump told Putin to restrain Ukraine war efforts

The Kremlin has rejected media reports suggesting that US...

More than 100 detained as protesters defy Amsterdam’s ban on protests

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in Amsterdam on...

Traffic jam erupts as cyclists from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng for dumplings

A social media trend that began as a lighthearted...

Adin Ross wins $1.6m on Trump election bet after public endorsement

American streamer and social media influencer Adin Ross scored...