There’s no firm date for Starship #9 to launch as yet following the partly successful Flight #8 in March, but engineers and technicians are busy at the Boca Chica launch site in South Texas in preparation. But there’s a potential problem which could cause a delay to an expected late-May test flight.

SpaceX shipped the upper-stage Starship that can fly on the next flight to its test stand on April 29th and reportedly filled its tanks with propellant. However, the tanks were then emptied without a static fire for the rocket. That test-firing took place on April 30th and although it lasted some 30 seconds it did not go well, according to observers.

Theories abound including that the test engineers were trying to replicate on the ground what has happened twice in orbit with the two previous flights. Some observers reported “lots of metal parts at the end of the test flying around”. A blog report talked of the static fire anomaly being caused by a clogged drain that started a fire in an engine joint, eventually leading to an explosion.

Another report says a replacement engine has arrived at the South Texas Starbase, and this will enable another static test to take place.

However, one negative report says that the late May launch date has definitely been cancelled.

SpaceX had redesigned the upper-stage of the two-part rocket since it flew in January with Flight #07 but which also suffered problems. The test saw the upper stage explode during flight, with debris raining over the Caribbean. An update from SpaceX after the anomaly revealed that vibrations in the ship’s propulsion system had led to a fire in its rear section which led to an engine shutdown. Test flight #08 ended in similar fashion.

The upcoming Flight #09 will reuse the lower booster stage which was successfully ‘landed’ and captured by the ‘chopstick’ arms on the launch platform.

At stake is a NASA contract to use a Starship on its lunar landing project. However, SpaceX has to prove it can launch multiple rockets and use one in orbit to refuel with the Moon portion of the mission.

Other posts by :

1. SpaceRISE: “IRIS² moves to next phase”
2. EchoStar in trouble with FCC
3. Abu Dhabi clamps down on satellite TV users
4. Japan’s D2C options come to a head
5. Saudis seek growth in space
6. Bank: Eutelsat “Underperform and unattractive”
7. Eutelsat: Major challenges as Berneke signs off
8. SES expects 30% growth from O3b mPOWER fleet
9. Signs of life for 8K

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Satellite

Tags: musk, starship