SpaceX Conducts Successful Test of Super Heavy Booster

Successful Test of Super Heavy Booster

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday that the static fire test for the Flight 3 Super Heavy Booster was successfully completed. The test lasted approximately 10 seconds and involved the firing of all 33 Raptor engines on the booster. The Super Heavy booster serves as the first stage of the Starship rocket, which is currently the largest and most powerful booster in the world.

Starship Test Flights

SpaceX has conducted two test flights of the Starship in 2023, but neither flight successfully achieved its objective of sending a Starship upper stage craft around the Earth to a splashdown point in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. However, the Super Heavy first stage did successfully splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Starship and Super Heavy rockets are designed to be fully reusable and have been selected by NASA for the Artemis 3 moon mission. SpaceX has also secured contracts with several customers for future launches.

Launch License and Investigation

SpaceX is currently awaiting a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Flight 3 of the Starship system. The FAA is conducting an investigation into a recent SpaceX rocket launch doubleheader to ensure compliance with safety regulations.

Once the investigation is complete and any necessary corrective actions have been implemented, the FAA is expected to grant the launch license. The exact timeline for the launch of Flight 3 is currently unclear.