SpaceX Prepping for First Full Test Fire of Its Mega Starship Rocket

A magical, misty moment in Texas as Starship poses on the launchpad in January 2023.
SpaceX

After over a year and a half of waiting, it’s clear Starship’s first trip to space is getting really close. 

The rocket that Elon Musk aims to use to send astronauts to the moon and many more humans to Mars could make its first orbital flight within weeks, and SpaceX is now going through some of the final items on its checklist to prepare.

Reports and action from the company’s Starbase rocket development facility in Texas point toward a possible static firing of Booster 7, an early prototype of the Super Heavy booster designed to push Starship out of the atmosphere, as soon as this week. 

Local authorities have issued possible closures of the highway and beach near Starbase for Wednesday through Friday as well as next Monday and Tuesday. The Information reports that the test firing is planned for Friday. 

SpaceX is scheduled to conduct its highly-anticipated 33-engine static fire test on January 20, sources told me. That’s a major sign that Starship’s first flight test really is on the horizon. https://t.co/0tUbY5XipM

— Becky Peterson (@beckpeterson) January 12, 2023

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A static firing will see the booster secured to a test stand so it can’t go anywhere while its engines are lit up briefly to test them and gather data on how they perform in preparation for launch. SpaceX conducted test firings of Booster 7 last year, but only with a fraction of the engines it’s designed to carry. This will reportedly be the first time a fully loaded Super Heavy with all 33 engines is ignited.

A successful static firing could indicate SpaceX is getting near the end of its checklist of things that need to happen before the Federal Aviation Administration issues the company a license to launch. We may finally see Starship leave the planet as soon as late February or early March, according to Musk. 

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SpaceX Starship is preparing for its first orbital flight

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Starship last flew in 2021 in a series of high-altitude flights that saw early prototypes of the craft, sans Super Heavy booster, skim the atmosphere and come back for a landing attempt. The next launch will be an orbital flight that sees Super Heavy launch Starship to orbit before separating and landing on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, Starship will continue on to orbit for a short trip to space before splashing down off the coast of Hawaii. 

If all goes well, 2023 will see more Starship tests as SpaceX prepares to assist NASA and its Artemis program by eventually sending cargo and astronauts to the moon later this decade.