According to news on June 27, SpaceX’s spacecraft candidate upper stage for the next Starship test flight has begun ground ignition testing. On Friday local time, SpaceX released a video showing that the Ship 40 to be used in the 13th Starship comprehensive test flight (Flight 13) completed a single-engine static ignition.
According to Space.com, Ship 40 was recently transported to the Massey test site at the Starship Base in Texas, USA, and fixed on a ground test stand. During the test, the Ship 40 ignited a centrally located Raptor 3 engine, burning for about 15 seconds. The function of static ignition is to confirm that the spacecraft engine is in working condition before actual launch.
This is not a launch, but a pre-launch physical examination
The starship consists of a "Super Heavy" booster below and a spacecraft above. Ship 40 is the upper stage of the spacecraft and is planned to be used for the next 13th comprehensive test flight. It is equipped with 6 Raptor 3 engines, 3 of which are optimized for sea level environment and 3 of which are optimized for space vacuum environment.
This test only ignited one engine, which does not mean that the entire spacecraft is ready for launch. According to Space.com, Ship 40 will also conduct 6 engine tests in the future; the super-heavy booster matching it will also need to complete 33 engine tests. Only if these ground tests are passed will SpaceX enter full flight preparation.
The V3 starship has just flown once, and there are still faults to be checked.
This ignition occurred about a month after the first test flight of the Starship V3 version. On May 22, SpaceX launched the upgraded V3 Starship. Space.com called the mission "basically successful", but there were still some failures during the flight, including the failure of the super-heavy booster to complete a controlled sea splashdown as planned.
V3 is currently the largest and most powerful version of the starship, with a height of approximately 124.4 meters. It is also the first starship version to use the Raptor 3 engine. In addition to the engine, V3 also has improved grid rudders, thermal protection, fuel capacity, and added docking ports for space fuel transfer.
For ordinary readers, the significance of each ground test of the Starship is not that it "lit another fire", but that it is one step closer to repeatable launches. SpaceX wants to make Starship a fully reusable heavy-lift rocket, but so far, all Starship flights are still suborbital tests and have not actually entered orbit.
The next flight time has not been announced yet
SpaceX has not announced the specific mission schedule and launch date of Flight 13. Space.com judges that as Ship 40 completes its first static ignition, SpaceX is advancing the next round of complete flight preparations and may launch before the end of this summer.
The follow-up of Starship is also related to NASA's "Artemis" moon landing program. NASA has selected SpaceX’s Starship as a manned lunar lander. To actually carry out a lunar mission, Starship will also need to demonstrate key capabilities such as space fuel transfer, which have yet to be demonstrated.