The milestone test, known as a "static fire," is the last significant challenge before SpaceX tries to launch the almost 400-foot-tall rocket into space. As the company gets ready to send the rocket into orbit for the first time, SpaceX test-fired 31 of the 33 engines in the tall rocket booster of its Starship prototype on Thursday.
After the test, the company tweeted that the engines in the Super Heavy booster's base fired for the "full duration," or the anticipated amount of time.
In a following tweet, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk said that one engine had been shut off prior to the test, and another engine had "stopped itself."
"Still enough engines to reach orbit!" Musk said.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's plan to send astronauts back to the moon depends on the development of a starship, which is intended to transport people and cargo beyond Earth. The space agency awarded SpaceX a nearly $3 billion contract in 2021.
The launch of SpaceX's Starship rocket's first flight test is rapidly approaching. On Wednesday, President and COO Gwynne Shotwell emphasized that the initial launch attempt would be a test. If the test-firing on Thursday goes well, Shotwell added, SpaceX might be able to conduct the first Starship orbital test flight in March.
SpaceX had wanted to undertake the first orbital Starship launch as soon as the summer of 2021, but delays in the development process and the need for regulatory permission have delayed that goal. To launch Starship, SpaceX needs permission from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The business will review Thursday's static fire test results next. After a successful static, Shotwell predicted that SpaceX would be prepared "within the next month or so" to fly the first Starship orbital trip.
In November, SpaceX launched the Super Heavy booster using 14 of its engines. The Super Heavy booster, known as Booster 7 in SpaceX terminology, was rolled back to the company's nearby production facility for maintenance and improvements before being brought back to the launch site. For a wet dress rehearsal, or fueling test, ground crews fully packed the Super Heavy and Starship vehicle on the Starbase launch pad.
The massive, privately-funded SpaceX rocket will be the most potent ever to take off and be constructed of gleaming stainless steel. The Space Launch System, which became the most powerful rocket in flight when it launched on the Artemis 1 lunar test mission in November, and NASA's Saturn 5 moon rocket will both have their power outputs doubled by the push from the 33 main engines on the first stage of the Space Launch System.
