Starship ace single Raptor engine ignition test for Flight 4 reentry

SpaceX conducted a single Raptor engine ignition test for the Starship spacecraft ahead of the Flight 4 launch. This is a crucial test the spacecraft will use this lone engine to steady the spacecraft during reentry.

Before we move further let’s recap the third Starship test flight.

The vehicle lifted off from the pad followed by stage separation, the first stage performed maneuver and boostback for return. Starship spacecraft fired its 6 Raptor engines and reached orbit.

It completed a full-duration burn for the first time along with side objections on orbit. However, the company didn’t attempt an on-orbit engine relight of a single raptor engine due to the vehicle roll rates during the coast.

The ship successfully entered the Earth’s atmosphere and tested those plasma shields for minutes before concluding the mission without a splashdown.

SpaceX CEO said that the fourth flight of Starship is getting ready for test. The mission objective this time would be to get all systems working during the maximum entry heating.

After relighting one engine, the company could also demonstrate a boostback burn to perform a landing pose in mid-air before splashdown in the sea.

Earlier, SpaceX tested all 6 Raptor engines for static fire which will be fired after the stage separation and now it is preparing for the entry burn.

There’s no launch date speculated for the fourth flight at the moment but it could happen sooner than the third attempt.

Static fire of a single Raptor engine using the header tanks on Flight 4 Starship pic.twitter.com/94RJWVZ8Hv

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 27, 2024