SpaceX marks full-duration static-fire test for Starship Flight 11

SpaceX has conducted a full-duration static-fire test for the upcoming Starship Flight 11. Last week, the company transferred this massive Starship upper stage to the launch site to mark this test.

You should know that the upper used test on a separate test site at Starbase, but a major explosion during Flight 10 testing has destroyed that structure. Meanwhile, SpaceX is testing new Starship Flight 11’s second stage on the launch pad, just like the Super Heavy booster.

The latest full-duration static-fire includes six Raptor engines burning at full power for almost 20 seconds. Such tests are designed to test engine functionality and propellant management in a launch-like environment while the ship remains on the launch pad.

The objectives for the ship are different compared to the super-heavy booster. Last time, the ship performed some amazing maneuvers, including the first-ever payload deployment sequence with eight next-gen Starlink simulators.

Eventually, the ship made it through the orbital coasting and reentered Earth’s atmosphere. However, this ship is still vulnerable during this phase, and the team is intentionally stressing the vehicle upon reentry to check its limits.

During Flight 10, the ship successfully measured the descent in one piece, but many of its tiles were lost. Making a reentry with all tiles intact is a big challenge, which is an essential goal to make this flight hardware reusable.

With this static fire, SpaceX may also conduct a quick single-engine Raptor engine test or directly send back the upper stage to the factory before stacking it over to the booster. This may not take long, probably around one or two weeks before we see this mega rocket flying.