SpaceX may perform a wet dress rehearsal of its Starship launch system today

News Summary

  • The first stage, Booster 7, has seen as many as 14 of its 33 Raptor engines test fired during activity back in November.Now these two vehicles are fully stacked on the launch pad ahead of today's critical fueling test.
  • This could come as early as March if things proceed well.Of course things may not go well, and it's possible that SpaceX will ultimately decide to use newer iterations of Starship hardware for the orbital test flight.
  • However this upper stage of this vehicle, Ship 24, previously underwent a successful static fire test of its six Raptor rocket engines on September 8, 2022.
  • Monday's methodical wet dress rehearsal is a key part of that test campaign.While SpaceX is not providing a livestream of Monday's testing, several private streamers, including NASASpaceflight and LabPadre, will have you covered as the rocket turns white and frosty.
  • The countdown will proceed toward liftoff but end just before the transfer of internal power to the launch vehicle.There will be no engine ignition today.
  • The goal is to ensure the rocket clears the launch site so that it does not damage valuable infrastructure there, at a minimum.
Enlarge/ A fully stacked Starship launch system is seen on January 9, 2023.0 with 0 posters participatingAfter months of preparation, SpaceX is now approaching the critical test phase of its laun [+3642 chars]