Around 12:30 pm CST (UTC-6), the SpaceX Starship prototype serial number 9 (SN9) retrofitted its Raptor engines for the second time, followed by another Raptor ignition at 2:22 pm.
Both tests were very short, like a mirror of SN9’s first static fire, which ended sooner than SpaceX expected back on January 6th. In the end, however, the static short fires seemed to be intentional according to a cryptic view made by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shortly after the first.
More importantly, this is the first time never that SpaceX has completed – or even attempted – two Starship static fires in a single day, not to mention two in as many hours. By itself, the fact that SpaceX was willing to try two static fires in two hours already proves that the first test was a success, as the company would certainly not be in danger of failing in vehicle by duplicating a test that failed or was blocked if it could not immediately determine the main cause.
Per Musk, SpaceX “works starting an engine [today], ”So far there are three“ beginnings. ”That description is a mirror of the very short static fires. The need for special discount-related tests on SN9 seems to mean that the first Starship test may end prematurely due to an issue with the Raptor discount.
With two hours left in the window and a desert to extend that to five hours, SpaceX could try the third or even fourth “start-up test” today. Keep an eye out for updates as SN9 continues its first boot at high altitude.
