Starship performs single-engine static fire test for Flight 10

SpaceX has completed the single-engine static fire test on Starship 36 for the upcoming Flight Test 10. This practice is part of the verification process for the single-engine relight in orbit, which failed during Flight 9.

The rocket maker recently transported this mega space vehicle to Masseys’ test site at Starbase, Texas. The single Raptor burn remained in action for about 10 seconds before shutting down.

After flying off the ground using the super heavy booster, the upper stage fires its engines for the ascent phase and enters orbit. Once all in-orbit tasks are completed, the ship performs a single-engine relight during a coast phase, which verifies the spacecraft’s capability to restart one of its six Raptor engines in the vacuum of space.

The relight test ensures that the engine can withstand microgravity and extreme thermal conditions without propellant leaks and ignition failures.

SpaceX Starship 36 performing single-engine Raptor engine burn test at Starbase (Source – StarshipGazer/X)

This is Starship’s important in-space capabilities, which will help it to deorbit or change its trajectory for planetary missions such as the Moon and Mars. It is also crucial for controlled reentry and landing on a designated site.

The sixth flight test has achieved this milestone using a previous generation upper stage, but the company is having a hard time repeating this history with a new ship employed since the seventh flight. The recent example is Flight 9, during which the ship completed its coasting but had to leave the single-engine relight opportunity.

Besides single-engine, SpaceX could also attempt a full-fledged static test on all six engines before it gets approval for Starship Flight 10. For now, SpaceX has not shared an official launch date for this test mission.

(source)