SCREENSHOTS TAKEN BY ROXANNA MIRANDA FROM THE NASA SPACE FLIGHT WEBSITE LIVESTREAM
Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER
The SpaceX Starship prototype SN6 is scheduled for its first test flight Friday at the Boca Chica launch site.
SpaceX conducted its first SN6 static fire test on Aug. 23, after a successful cryogenic pressure test the previous week.
The SN6 rocket is powered by a single Raptor engine (a reusable methalox full-flow staged-combustion rocket engine), according to the SpaceX website.
SpaceX installed a new Raptor engine (SN29) to prepare SN6 for a much riskier round of tests and used this engine in its static fire test.
The static fire test was successful on its third attempt, just 15 minutes before the closing of the window from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This specific test was performed to examine the engines while the vehicle remained fastened to the ground.
According to the Cameron County website, road closure announcements scheduled for today indicate that SpaceX aims to launch SN6 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
The backup dates of Saturday and Sunday have also been scheduled with the same window.
SCREENSHOTS TAKEN BY ROXANNA MIRANDA FROM THE NASA SPACE FLIGHT WEBSITE LIVESTREAM
Earlier this month, the company launched its first Starship prototype, SN5, to a height of 150 meters off the ground and landed it successfully. SN6 is expected to replicate that same 150-meter hop.
After the launch, Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO, said the company would be performing many tests in the near future to get SN6 in the air. Tests for SN6 continue to take place according to schedule.
SN6 is just a small piece in Musk’s plan for interplanetary exploration.
The final product will consist of two main parts: Starship, a 165-foot-tall spacecraft, and Super Heavy, a giant rocket that will propel the structure into space. Both are powered by rapidly reusable Raptor engines. Starship will have six engines and Super Heavy will be powered by 31.
While SN6 is being prepared for its launch, multiple Starship vehicles are being worked on at the production facility at Boca Chica, according to the space flight website, nasaspaceflight.com. SN5 is being re-equipped in preparation for additional test flights.
Additionally, SN7.1, a test tank, is being prepared for an overpressure test, according to the NASA SpaceFlight website. Also, SN8, a fully assembled vehicle with a nose cone and aerodynamic fins, and equipped with three Raptor engines, is predicted to fly much higher than SN5 and 6, according to Space.com.
In other SpaceX related news, threads on Twitter indicate that Musk aims to turn Boca Chica Village into a “21st century Spaceport” and resort. He plans to turn the village into a port for commercialized space travel, and interplanetary civilization.
“I’ve been working in Boca Chica since Sunday. August heat & humidity in South Texas is intense! If you think of it like a tropical resort, that makes it better though,” the SpaceX CEO tweeted on Aug. 19.
Asked by a Twitter user if the future resort will be open to the public, Musk replied, “Mostly for employees, but we’ll support public access whenever it’s safe & secure. Public support is critical to making life multi-planetary.”
SpaceX also posted a job listing for a resort development manager at the Boca Chica site in Brownsville.
“Boca Chica Village is our latest launch site dedicated to Starship, our next generation launch vehicle,” the job description reads. “SpaceX is committed to developing this town into a 21st century Spaceport. We are looking for a talented Resort Development Manager to oversee the development of SpaceX’s first resort from inception to completion.”
