Why 33 raptor engines testing is a BIG PROBLEM for SpaceX and Elon Musk?
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Building a spacecraft is no mere feat. It involves lots of testing before it can launch. While the FAA won’t allow SpaceX to test launch the Starship if SpaceX can’t complete 75 actions, SpaceX has to be sure that the 33 raptor engines at the bottom of Super Heavy will fire without any significant problems first.
So, why a 33-raptor engine testing is a big problem for SpaceX and Elon Musk?
Let’s expose all of this in today’s episode of the Alpha tech channel:
SpaceX is now looking forward to completing an orbital test flight. This will be a test flight like no other, as a fully stacked Starship will produce almost double the thrust of the Saturn 5, the most powerful rocket ever made. In order to produce this amount of thrust, the Super Heavy booster will have 33 raptor engines, lifting the Starship’s second stage into orbit. In order for this test flight to go well, an enormous amount of engine testing needs to be done.
But this is really a big deal.
After the latest explosion of Booster 7, Elon Musk also admitted that:” Going forward, we won’t do a spin start test with all 33 engines at once.”
The most obvious is simple enough: For a test with 33 Raptors, SpaceX needs to fully fill a Super Heavy booster for the first time. Depending on the storage situation, that process will likely begin by filling Booster 7 with about 2500 tons of liquid nitrogen– about two-thirds full. If SpaceX also temporarily fills one of the orbital tank farm’s liquid oxygen (LOx) or methane (LCH4) tanks with nitrogen, it could fully load Booster 7 with around 3500 tons of nitrogen. At least according to SpaceX’s own website, that’s about the same weight as the propellant (3400t) Super Heavy is designed to lift off with.
If that full test goes well, SpaceX will then likely perform one or several wet dress rehearsals, ultimately filling Booster 4 with approximately 2900 tons of cryogenic oxygen and 500 tons of cryogenic methane.
Why 33 raptor engines testing is a BIG PROBLEM for SpaceX and Elon Musk?
