SpaceX is getting ready to fire up its Starship Super Heavy Booster 9 for a static test of its liquid methane-fueled Raptor rocket engines. It will be the first test of a new water deluge system installed at the launch pad following the first Integrated Test Flight for the Starship vehicle on April 20.
The test flight, which ended in a fiery, high-altitude explosion over the Gulf of Mexico, also caused extensive damage to the towering rocket’s Starbase launch facility at Boca Chica, Texas. The rocket’s exhaust ripped up the concrete base of the launch mount, sending blocks of concrete flying and excavating a large hole. SpaceX has added a giant water-cooled metal plate under the launch pad pedestal to protect the structure.
SpaceX has not announced a specific time for the ignition of the Raptor engines but told local residents that the test window would run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT (1300-0100 UTC). It is also not clear how many of the 33 Raptor engines usually installed on a Super Heavy booster will be fired.
Venting from ground equipment as SpaceX gets ready to load liquid methane and liquid oxygen propellants about Starship Super Heavy Booster 9 for a static fire test. Image: LabPadre.
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