Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER
SpaceX has stacked its first Super Heavy Booster No. 1 (BN1) rocket at the Boca Chica launch site and will prepare to launch Starship prototype SN11 in the next couple of days.
Also at the launch site is SN15, which is undergoing stacking, meaning the prototype has been put together from separate pieces.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted over Spring Break, stating, “SN11 almost ready to fly.”
SN11 will mark the final test of this duplication of Starship before the program moves into the next phase of testing, according to spaceflight.com.
After the flight of SN11, SpaceX will move on to SN15, 16 and 17, alongside testing of Super Heavy prototypes BN1 and BN2, before shooting for an orbital launch with SN20 and BN3, according to spaceflight.com.
The orbital launch has a target date of July 1.
SN11 underwent a static fire test March 22 at the Boca Chica launch site, meaning a launch is on its way.
The three Raptor engines fired that morning for about two seconds before being shut down and were followed by a depress vent, according to spaceflightinsider.com.
The Wired website explains that a depress vent is used to “ventilate any oxygen that heats up to boil off so it does not blow up the tank.”
Cameron County ordered road closures for last Wednesday and Thursday, for a potential launch of SN11. Since SpaceX does not perform launches on the weekends, the test flight may be postponed until today.
Given its history with past flights, SpaceX usually does not announce its launches until an hour before they occur. Due to this, the flight of SN11 will be touch and go for the next couple of days.
Despite the obvious data needed from the static fire test conducted on March 22, SpaceX also needs clearance from multiple agencies before a launch can take place.
This includes approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for favorable weather conditions, hardware preparations, and a public notice for the road closure of State Highway 4.
As previously reported by The Rider, the 165-foot-tall Starship vehicle will eventually launch from Earth attached to a giant rocket (Super Heavy).
Together, the Starship vehicle and Super Heavy will be 394 feet tall.
“SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond,” as stated on the SpaceX website. “Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit.”
