SpaceX is ramping up for a second high-altitude flight test of its next-generation rocket, Starship, and says the launch could come as soon as Monday.
What You Need To Know
- Next test of SpaceX's prototype rocket, Starship, set for within a week from Texas
- Last launch of Starship SN8 ended up with rocket exploding on landing pad
- RELATED: SpaceX Starship Blows Up During Test Landing Attempt
The high-altitude test of Starship SN9 follows that of Starship SN8, whose performance on December 9 prompted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to declare on Twitter: “Mars, here we come!!”
SpaceX, which maintains a Starship production facility in Cocoa, Florida, foresees a reusable rocket that eventually will fly humans and cargo from the Earth to the International Space Station, the moon, and Mars.
Like last month’s Starship prototype test, SN9 will launch from SpaceX’s site in Cameron County, Texas.
SpaceX says it wants SN9 to reach about 10 kilometers beyond Earth and perform a propellant transition to its internal header tanks, then reorient itself for reentry.
The company says it aims for a “controlled aerodynamic descent with body flaps and vertical landing capability, combined with in-space refilling.”
On its website, SpaceX calls the process “critical to landing Starship at destinations across the solar system where prepared surfaces or runways do not exist, and returning to Earth.”
“This capability will enable a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration, interplanetary flights and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond,” SpaceX adds.
Musk expressed elation in early December even though Starship SN8 landed at high velocity and exploded on impact.
“Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD, but we got all the data we needed! Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!!” he wrote on Twitter.