SpaceX conducts first six engine test fire of Starship SN20; Elon Musk responds

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX performed a static fire of the futuristic Starship on Saturday at SpaceX’s Starbase facility located in Boca Chica, South Texas. All six engines of the Starship SN20 were ignited on the site as part of SpaceX’s preparations for the longest test flight Starship has undergone to date. It has been reported that Starship will be ready for the flight before 2021 ends which has been confirmed on several occasions by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. 

Meanwhile, the company provided an update for the latest static fire test via Twitter with a spectacular image of the black coloured Starship standing tall with orange flames underneath it. Video of the same also surfaced soon after the test that was conducted at 11:43 pm (IST), which also caught the eye of Musk on Twitter. “Good static fire with all six engines!” tweeted the billionaire. 

This is the second static fire test conducted with Starship 20, as recently on October 22, the spacecraft was fired when it was outfitted with only two raptor engines - the vacuum version and the standard "sea-level" raptor. Although only the sea-level raptor was fired in the previous test. 

Starship nearing its launch this year

Earlier on August 5, Musk had shared pictures of a fully stacked Starship spacecraft, which is being posed as the vehicle that will carry humans and cargo to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The 165-foot-tall Starship consists of two components - the Super Heavy booster powered by 29 raptors engines, and the Starship mounted over it, which will be loaded with crew and cargo. 
It is being speculated that SpaceX will launch the Starship 20 by the end of this year however, it faces some roadblocks concerning the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In order to ensure a date for the launch, the company will need approval from the FAA, which seeks assurance from Musk and Co. that the launch will not cause any harm to the environment or the population living around Starbase. Interestingly, once this test is conducted, Musk himself has plans for a space trip in late 2023, where he will be accompanied by Japan’s billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa.

Image: Twitter/@SpaceX